For Better or Worse?
by GinnyGinervaWeasley
Summary: The war has ended and things have changed. Ginny and Draco have become close over the last few years and many unexpected things will be thrown their way. Will the things that happen be for better or worse? I own nothing Harry Potter.
1. Chapter 1: The New Beginning

**I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

The war between the Dark Lord and the rest of the wizarding community ended a little over three years ago. It left the town in ruins and the Ministry was almost irreparable. The whole community had to come together to restore everything back to its original state. It took a lot to fix all of the problems, but by the end they had managed to bring it back even stronger than before.

* * *

It was almost the end of the day and Ginny couldn't stop looking at the clock. She couldn't wait to get out of this place. Ever since she walked in the door this morning there had been non-stop work for her to complete. She had to handle all of her original appointments, along with the many splinching cases of the day, and then there were the few real emergencies she had to deal with; and to top it all off she had an endless amount of paper work to fill out. She still had a half an hour to go and couldn't bring herself to finish; it would be left for Monday. At times like this she had to remind herself why she had become a Healer after the war. It had always been her dream, though she'd never expected to actually fulfill it. That was all down to a certain Draco Malfoy believing in her. And now she was a well-respected Healer at St. Mungo's, always working, trying to save up to get a place of her own.  
She was sitting there thinking about the weekend when someone said, "You seem very busy today!" Ginny looked up and saw Draco: he was tall, with white-blonde hair, and looked almost the same as the first day they met, just older. Since the end of the war, the two had become really good friends, against their families' wishes. Draco had gone on to follow his love of potions making to become a well-known apothecary, and he now worked alongside some of the best – and Ginny herself – at St. Mungo's. In doing so he defied all of the wishes of his father, making a new name for himself. His father remained locked up in Azkaban, and his mother had died in the action of the war. Ginny knew that he had changed greatly since he left the Dark Lord's side.

Bringing herself back to the present, she said, "Yeah, I have way too much paperwork to complete, but I give up. I'll just leave it until Monday."

"Have fun with that on Monday!"

"I'll worry about it later. So, what do you want?" Ginny inquired playfully.

"Just wondering what you're doing tonight," Draco said slyly, as he took a seat across from Ginny at her desk.

"Nothing. Why?"

"I was wondering if you would like to go to dinner with me."

"Sure, I guess. What about Serena?" Serena Gables was Draco's girlfriend, well on and off, but now she was in Argentina for work with the Prophet.

"What she doesn't know won't hurt her. Anyway, it's just two friends having dinner."

"Okay, then fine, I'll go," Ginny said, eyeing Draco and wondering how his mind worked.

"Great! I'll meet you at your place…well, maybe it would be best if you met me at mine. I mean, considering your family does hate me, and all," Draco said, in a tone that meant Ginny couldn't tell whether he was being sarcastic or serious.

"They don't hate you! I'd say it's more of a strong dislike."

"Whatever you call it, I think it would be best if we met at my place."

"That's what you say! Since you're _afraid_ of my family, we'll do it your way. What time do you want me to come?"

"I'm not afraid! I just want to avoid anything that might happen if I show up there."

"Whatever. What time?"

"Eight. And don't look at me that way," Draco said, catching the look Ginny was giving him.

"Okay, I'll see you at eight."

"See you then, Ginny," Draco said, as he got up and turned to leave.

"I can't believe you're afraid of my family," Ginny added under her breath as he was leaving.

Draco turned and stared at her with his sparkling gray eyes. "I am not!"

"Whatever you say. See you tonight," Ginny said, laughing.

As Draco left, Ginny stared after him, trying to figure out what he was about. She wondered how he could be afraid of her family, but could face the Dark Lord without even flinching. Draco had switched sides in the middle of the war and was, along with Harry, one of the biggest reasons for the fall of the Dark Lord. He had worked for the Order as a double agent, spying on the Dark Lord during his biggest time of power. Draco would have been the last person Ginny would have expected to join forces with the Order, but he did.

She was also wondering why he had asked her to dinner tonight. She knew it was just as friends, considering Serena, but she still believed there was something more behind it. She couldn't help but think whether Draco and Serena were even still together.

When Ginny came back from her thoughts, she looked at the clock and saw that the day was done, and she could leave. She gathered her belongings and left as quickly as possible, heading for home. _Twenty-one and still living at The Burrow_, she thought to herself. _Ginerva Weasley, whatever will become of you?_

When Ginny got back to The Burrow she found George, Bill, and Fleur in the yard. She went and sat down with Hermione, Ron, and Harry at the picnic table. They were talking about something that had to do with their work; after the war was over all three of them went on to work at the Ministry as Aurors. When Ginny sat down, they directed their attention away from their discussion and towards her.

"What's going on with you?" Hermione asked.

"Not much. What about you guys?" Ginny said cheerfully.

They all three answered the same way, "Not much, busy with work."

They sat there and talked about many different topics, but Ginny's attention was never focused on the conversation. She was still trying to figure out what tonight was all about. She looked at her watch and noticed she should get ready, so she stood up and said, "Sorry, but I have to go."

"Oh, okay. What are you doing tonight?" asked Hermione.

"I'm having dinner with Draco. I have to go get ready," Ginny answered, but almost immediately knew it was a mistake, considering Harry and Ron hated Malfoy's guts.

"Malfoy! You're having dinner with Malfoy!" said Ron and Harry at the same time.

"Yes, and I don't care what you think, so drop it," Ginny said determinedly, turning and walking away before they could say anything else. She looked back when she got to the door, and saw the expected looks of surprise on all of their faces.

Ginny and Harry's relationship had ended shortly after the war, because she was tired of waiting around for him. The war had made her realize that life was too short to waste. So she decided to stop waiting for Harry, and they went on to just be friends. She knew, however, that Harry still saw more than friendship in their future: that was a problem she didn't yet know how to fix. Sighing, she turned back to the house. She would think about it later.

Ginny went up stairs to get ready. She decided on wearing a dark green dress with matching heels. She wore her red hair half-down, with a beautiful barrette holding it back. She put on a gold necklace that her parents had given her, and looking in the mirror, decided that she was ready. She grabbed her purse and then turned and Apparated on the spot.

Ginny had arrived on the doorstep of Malfoy Manor. It was a huge mansion mainly centered around Slytherin. The doorknockers on the great oak doors were of snakeheads, and the giant marble pillars had serpents entwined around them. It looked like something Muggles would call a "haunted house".

Ginny stepped up to the door and used one of the snakehead knockers. In seconds, Draco appeared at the door dressed in a white collared shirt with black suit pants and a tie, and in his hand was his black suit coat. "Would you like to come in, or are you ready to leave now?" Draco asked, in a tone that Ginny couldn't read.

"We can go now if you like, or we can stay. It doesn't make a difference to me," Ginny said, trying to read the look on Draco's face.

"Sounds like you want to go. Okay, then. Let's get going."

"It doesn't make a difference to me. If you're not ready…"

"I'm ready, let's go. Oh, and by the way, you look beautiful."

"Oh, thanks! You look good too," Ginny said, trying to decide whether Draco really meant it, or if he was just being sarcastic.

Apparently Draco could tell what Ginny was thinking, because he then said, "I am serious. You do look beautiful."

"Thanks!" Ginny said, feeling her cheeks get warm. She was blushing and hoping that Draco didn't notice.

Either Draco didn't notice her blushing or didn't care, because then, turning and closing the door, he said, "Are you ready?"

"Yes. Where are we going?"

"Some fancy restaurant down in the Muggle town. I was thinking we could Apparate to the outside of the town and walk from there, if that's okay with you."

"Sure, that's fine with me," Ginny said, walking up to Draco and taking his hand. They turned on the spot and Apparated to the outskirts of the town. From there they walked for about five minutes, and they were at the restaurant that Draco was talking about.

After being seated and ordering, Ginny asked, "Why did you really ask me to dinner tonight?"

"Do I need a reason?"

"Yes, YOU do. So what is it?"

"I don't know. Maybe I just didn't want to have dinner alone."

"Really?"

"Yes, really! Is there a problem with that?"

"No, no problem. I was just wondering," Ginny said lightly, and then she added, "So how are things with Serena?"

"Fine, I guess. I haven't talked to her in a while. She's been really busy with her latest article for the Prophet…To tell you the truth, I really have no idea how things are, or what's going on with her."

"Wow, I didn't know you could be truthful," Ginny said sarcastically. She wanted to get his mind off Serena because now she was sure that's what he wanted tonight.

"I can be truthful!"

"Yeah, I know. I was only kidding."

"Oh, really…" Draco said doubtfully as the food arrived.

After dinner, they had walked around the town talking about anything and everything. Ginny was really happy that she had come tonight, and she was thinking that Draco felt the same way. They walked along the cobbled streets for an hour or so, and then finally decided it was time to leave. They Apparated back to Malfoy Manor, where Ginny had promised to stay for a drink. They sat in the huge family room, which in a weird way reminded Ginny of a Hogwarts common room. After sitting there and talking for a while, Ginny had gotten up and was going to leave. Draco also stood up to wish her good-bye. He walked forward and took her hands and said, looking her in the eyes, "I had a wonderful time tonight, Ginny."

"I did too, Draco. Thanks for everything, and I'm sorry I have to go so soon."

"Me too," Draco said under his breath. After a moment he stepped in close enough to Ginny that they were touching, and, leaning in, kissed her full on the mouth. Ginny wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed back. All she could think was _I can't do this! He has a girlfriend, maybe. I just can't_. The kiss continued, and was becoming heated, when Ginny backed away. "No, I can't, Draco. I have to go."

"Ginny…don't go."

"I have to. Thanks for everything. I'll see you sometime."

"Ginny…wait…" was all Draco could say, as she walked out of the door and Apparated.

**Please let me know what you think!**


	2. Chapter 2: The Unexpected Turn

**Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

On Monday, Ginny found herself back at work**,** trying to catch up on what paperwork she had left over the weekend. She didn't realize how much work she still had to do until she'd started it. On top of everything else, she was also swamped with more paperwork from this week. She found herself preparing to give up when a familiar voice said, "Having fun?" Ginny looked up and saw that it was Draco again.

"Of course," Ginny replied sarcastically.

"I told you that you would have a lot to make up."

"I know, but I'll finish sometime."

"Really?"

"Yes, really."

"Hey, Ginny –I really did have a good time on Friday."

"Me too."

"Do you need help with some of that?" Draco asked, leaning in to see what she was working on.

"No, I'll be fine."

"Okay. Since you're busy I should probably leave you to your work."

"Yeah, I guess. I'll see you around."

"See you around," Draco repeated as he left Ginny's office.

The next few days dragged on and on, bringing more and more work. After a couple of weeks Ginny had finally caught up and fought to stay ahead.

"…I don't care what you think! I'm leaving!" yelled Ginny as she walked out, slamming the door behind her and Apparating to the only place she knew she would always be welcome.

Just seconds before, Ginny and Mrs. Weasley had been arguing about something as stupid as Ginny helping with dinner, but it had been enough to push her over the edge. For weeks now she had been having problems with her living arrangements and couldn't wait to move out. Weeks before she never would have thought that a simple fight over dinner would leave her with no place to live, standing on the doorstep of this mansion.

Ginny had Apparated herself to Malfoy Manor, for reasons unbeknownst to her. All she knew was that she would be accepted here. Upon arrival, Ginny reached out and knocked on the door. After a moment or two of waiting she heard Draco yell, "I'll be there in a minute!"

When Draco opened the door all he saw was Ginny standing there in the pouring rain, crying. Out of instinct he moved forward and wrapped his arms around her, embracing her in a hug. Ginny laid her head on his shoulder and continued to cry. She knew she had made the right choice by coming here: while Draco had his arms around her she was overcome with an overwhelming feeling of comfort. When Ginny finally stopped crying Draco released her and led her inside without a single word. She followed him into the family room in which, weeks before, they had shared their kiss. Only after Ginny had settled on the couch and Draco was seated next to her with his arm around her did he finally ask, "Ginny, what happened?"

Crying again, she replied, "I don't really know. All I know is that my Mum's mad at me and I have nowhere to stay. I didn't know what to do, so I came here."

"Let me get this straight; your Mum's mad at you, and you have nowhere to stay."

"That's what I just said!" snapped Ginny.

"Sorry! I just want to make sure I understand what's going on."

"I'm sorry too. I didn't mean it like that. I just don't know what to do."

"Tell me the story from the beginning."

"Fine…" Ginny took a deep breath and began. She told him everything, about the fight over dinner, about how she had been dying to leave, about her having nowhere to stay, and about her coming to his house because she didn't know what else to do.

"I don't know what to say about the fight and everything, but if you need somewhere to stay, Ginny, you'll be welcome here for as long as you need."

"No, I couldn't. That's not what I meant by coming here."

"I know. Really, Ginny, you can stay here. It's not a problem."

"I don't want to barge in like that, Draco."

"No, really, it's fine. It's lonely around here, anyway. I could use some company."

"Well…if you're sure; but I'll only stay for a few days. I don't want to intrude on your life."

"You can stay as long as you need."

"I know, but just a few days."

"Fine," Draco said, getting up and moving to look out of the window.

The few days turned into weeks, the weeks turned into months, and after three months Ginny was still living with Draco. She knew it was almost a given that, after staying together for three months, something beyond friendship would develop; that night had come.

They were at a business dinner, dealing with a well-known apothecary. Ginny went with Draco; ever since she had moved in she had accompanied him to these dinners. You could say that they went together for company or as friends, but neither of them really knew the reason why. Ever since the night they had had dinner together they went with each other to other dealings of this manner, without question.

It was towards the end of the night, and it could be said that both Ginny and Draco had had a little too much to drink. The dinner had ended a little over an hour ago, but they had sat around talking since then. Eventually they decided that it was time to go, considering that the restaurant was closing within minutes. Ginny stood up to leave and, feeling a little unbalanced, had to grab the back of the chair to keep herself from falling. Noticing that Ginny was tipsy Draco put his arm around her waist to assist her out of the door. A tingling sensation spread throughout Ginny's body as she appreciated the feeling of his arm around her. As they walked, she looked up into the pale face of the blond man walking beside her, wondering how someone as nice and handsome as Draco Malfoy had ever stood at the Dark Lord's side. Gently, he guided her towards the door and, once they were on the street, Apparated them both back to Malfoy Manor.

Entering the Manor seemed different to Ginny; this time, it seemed more like a home to her than The Burrow ever had. Following Draco into his bedroom that night could have felt like a mistake to some people, but not Ginny. She stood there watching Draco as he slowly moved across the room and kissed her. He kissed her on the mouth, continuing to her neck, down her arms, and ending with her soft, pale stomach; each kiss sent chills down her spine. Ginny sat there wondering how she'd never noticed the way his hair flipped in front of his eyes when he looked down, or the way his arms looked so tough but were so gentle, or the way his shirt stretched slightly across his chest, or the way she wished at that moment that the shirt would just disappear all together. Slowly, she reached out and started to unbutton it; after fumbling with the buttons in her hurry to reveal the pale skin beneath, he was relieved of the garment. Ginny wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. Without breaking the contact Draco gently laid Ginny back on to the bed and kissed her some more. That night, Ginny fell asleep in Draco's arms with no regrets.

**Thanks for reading and please let me know what you think!**


	3. Chapter 3: The Truth

**Here's the next chapter. I hope you like it.**

* * *

Ginny woke up the next morning, wrapped in Draco's arms with no regrets from the night before, to the sound of tapping in the distance. As her mind cleared she realized that the noise was coming from the window**;** looking up**,** she noticed two owls. She started to get up to let them in when a groggy voice said, "No, stay."

"But the owls," Ginny said while she watched Draco reach up and unlatch the window to let the owls in. They flew in and landed on the bedposts. Ginny reached up and detached the letters from the owls letting them fly off when she was done. Opening the letters**, **she saw the familiar writing of Hermione on one and of Harry on the other. Choosing to read Hermione's first, Ginny unfolded the letter and read:

Ginny,

Harry knows about you and Malfoy.

Why don't you come by The Burrow

today so we can talk**?**

Hermione

Ginny wondered how Harry had found out about Malfoy and herself. So, when opening Harry's letter, she knew what to expect:

Ginny,

You and Malfoy! We need to talk.

Come by The Burrow today.

Harry

"I think somebody's jealous," Draco said, apparently reading over Ginny's shoulder.

"Doubt it."

"Come on**,** Gin, it's obvious he wants to get back together with you."

"I guess. I don't really want to deal with this today."

"I don't blame you. I mean**,** jealous ex**,** and all."

"Don't worry, you're coming with me."

"What?…I am not!" burst out Draco.

"Ah…are you afraid of the famous Harry Potter?"

"No, I just don't want to cause problems."

"You don't want to cause problems…what a shock! Besides, you won't** – **and don't you want to show off to him?"

"I'm not coming!"

"Please**,** Draco!"

"No!"

"Come on, I said please **– **you have to!" begged Ginny as Draco leaned over and kissed her.

"Fine," Draco said as he leaned in to kiss her again, "but only for you."

After getting up and ready** – **and some more complaining on Draco's part **– **they Apparated to The Burrow.

As they arrived Ginny realized that this was the first time since the fight, three months ago, that she had returned. Now, somewhat dreading what would happen when she saw her mother and the rest of her family, she walked up and knocked on the door, Draco trailing behind her. To Ginny's displeasure Mrs. Weasley was the one who answered the door and**,** staring at her youngest child and the unwelcome visitor behind her**,** she said, "Can I help you?"

"Hello to you too, mother. I've come to talk to Harry and Hermione. Are they in?"

"Yes, but may I ask – why in the world is he here?" Molly Weasley said, staring at the Malfoy child.

"He is here because I brought him here. He is my friend and my...Mum**,** he's here because I invited him to join me."

"We will talk about this later**,** Ginny!"

"Fine**.** Where are Harry and Hermione?"

"They're upstairs," was all Molly said as she turned and went back to her work.

"I told you I would cause problems**,** Gin," Draco whispered in her ear.

"Yeah, I knew you would too, but it doesn't make a difference**.** Everyone will get over it," Ginny said as she walked into her childhood house and led the way towards the spiralling steps that led upstairs. Draco followed her as she walked past every door until she reached the highest room in the house. Knocking on the door Ginny waited as she heard voices and footsteps coming towards them. The figure that appeared at the door was a young, tall man with red hair; he was also the youngest boy in the family. Ron stopped in his tracks when he saw his baby sister accompanied by his biggest enemy standing at his door.

"Hello**,** Ronald," Ginny said as her brother stood there in shock.

"Why in the bloody hell are you here?" Ron snarled and pointed his wand at Malfoy, clearly ready to hex.

"Ron, who are you talking to?" Hermione's voice emerged from the depths of the room, "And put that wand away!"

"Ron, I'll tell you the same thing as I told Mum. He is here because I brought him here. Now**,** can we come in**?**"

"You can, but he can't!" Ron said eyeing Draco, eager to say what he really thought about him.

"Ron! Let Ginny in!" Hermione cried.

"Fine **–** but what about Malfoy?"

Hermione got up and walked across the room**,** ushering Ginny in happily**. **Only because of Ginny did she let Draco in. After taking a seat on the bed, next to Draco, Ginny looked around and saw that all three other occupants looked shocked and unhappy about the unwanted visitor. After a few moments of sitting in silence Ginny said, "I got your owls. What did you want to talk about?"

"I was planning on it just being you," Harry said to Ginny, while shooting a look at Draco.

"You'll just have to get over the extra company**,** then."

"By the way, why is the 'extra company' here?" said Ron**, **glaring at Malfoy.

"He is here because he is my friend**,** and I invited him."

"Well, he's not welcome," retorted Ron, finally stowing his wand away.

"I noticed," said Draco sarcastically.

"Then why are you still here?"

"I'm only here because your sister wants me here. Don't flatter yourself by thinking that I would seriously hang out here of my own accord!" Draco said arrogantly**,** looking around the tiny room.

"Draco!" Ginny hissed in his ear.

"Sorry**!** Are you sure I shouldn't go**?** Because I'd be more than happy to…" Draco whispered back as Ginny leaned in and kissed him on the lips.

"How long have you two been together?" said Hermione, after observing what was going on between them.

"Well, I've been living with Draco since the fight**;** but we have been together since last night**,** I guess," said Ginny, looking up at Draco to confirm her thoughts.

Seeing that Ginny wanted to know what he thought **– **and to hold it above Harry **– **he said, "Yeah, since last night…Yeah, last night…Last night was amazing."

After hearing what Draco had to say Ginny looked up at him, smiling**,** and put her hand in his. Looking around at the other three she noticed that, yet again, they all looked shocked**,** and Harry looked hurt. Ginny felt a pang of guilt upon seeing the look on Harry's face; she knew that what Draco had said had got to him, considering that Ginny had never given herself to Harry the way she had Draco.

"You've been staying with Malfoy!" exclaimed Ron, looking from Ginny and Draco to Hermione and back again.

"For months now. Where did you think I was staying?"

"Hermione said…you weren't staying with her?"

"No, I was staying with Draco," Ginny said**,** trying to read Hermione's expression.

"But…you lied to us," Ron said**,** turning on Hermione**.** "You said she was staying with you!"

"Hermione, you said I was staying with you?" Ginny said in confusion.

"Yes, I did because I knew how everyone would react when they found out you were staying with Malfoy…I mean Draco."

"Why in the bloody hell didn't you tell us Ginny was staying with Malfoy?" Ron shot at Hermione.

"I didn't tell you because I knew you would act like this. Be mad at me if you like, but you know that I would have done the same exact thing for either of you," Hermione said calmly to Harry and Ron.

"I would never stay with Malfoy** – **you wouldn't have to worry about it**!**" Ron shouted at Hermione.

"I never said it had to be Malfoy! You know I'd do the same for you**,** so get over it!" Hermione returned at Ron.

"Good**,** because I'd never stay with Malfoy!"

"I never said it ha–"

"Would you two drop it?" erupted Harry.

"Sorry, everyone – but like I was saying, I knew how you two would react if I told you Ginny was staying with Malfoy…oh sorry, Draco."

"Ron**,** before you start again – STOP IT! I don't care what you think**,** but whether you like it or not Draco was the only one who seemed to care that Mum and me had a fight. If I had told you, you would have reacted like this and I just didn't want to deal with it!" Ginny told Ron – and everyone else before they started fighting again.

Everyone fell silent and looked at her, then at each other. Ginny was sitting on the bed in Draco's arms, Ron was leaning on the desk glaring at Draco, Hermione was sitting on the trunk looking at Ginny and Harry was sitting in the corner on a chair looking everywhere but at Draco and Ginny.

Finally, after a long silence, Ginny stood up**.** "If that's it we should probably get going." Draco got up to follow Ginny as Hermione said, "Ginny, can I talk to you for a minute on your own?"

"Sure, no problem." Ginny turned to Draco. "You don't mind, do you?"

"No, but I should probably go before I get hexed by those two," Draco replied**,** looking at Ron and Harry.

"Then I guess I'll see you when I get back to your house."

"Yeah**,** see you then," Draco said**,** stepping in to kiss Ginny before turning and leaving.

"Now that Malfoy is gone – what on earth were you thinking? You and Malfoy! And bringing him here!" said Hermione**,** shocking them all with her explosion.

"I didn't want to face all of you alone, especially Mum**: **I haven't talked to her since the fight**,** and I don't know…"

"Oh…but are you still going to live with him?"

"Yes I am, Hermione," Ginny said**,** a little too quickly.

"No you are not!" burst out Ron.

"I am**,** Ron**,** and I don't care what you say**.** Draco has changed**,** whether you believe it or not! So**,** if we're done here**,** I'm going to leave," Ginny said**,** getting fed up with her brother.

As she was walking out the door of Ron's attic bedroom she heard from the corner, "Wait."

She turned to face Harry**, **who walked across the room and looked into her eyes**. **"Can we talk for a minute, Gin?"

Ginny smiled at him**. **"Yeah**,** we can talk."

At this response Harry turned and looked at Ron and Hermione; Hermione**,** getting the hint**,** headed toward the door, but Ron stayed still.

"Ron**,** I think I hear your Mum calling," Hermione urged.

"No one's calling."

"Ron**,** let**'**s go!" Hermione said urgently.

"Fine." Ron turned and walked towards the door, looking back over his shoulder as he went.

As soon as the bedroom door closed Harry looked back at Ginny**. **"Why Malfoy?"

"Harry**,** this has nothing to do with you, Ron, or anyone but me."

"But Gin, you know Malfoy's only using you to get back at me!"

"And what the bloody hell is that supposed to mean?" said Ginny**,** her voice rising and her face getting red.

"That's not what I meant**,** Gin."

"Well that's what it sounded like **– **and**,** like I just said**,** this has nothing to do with anyone but me and Draco. He was nice enough to let me stay at his place as long as I needed and things just sort of happened **–** but I don't regret any of it!"

Harry looked at her**,** and after a long pause he said, "Ginny, it's torture watching the girl of your dreams on someone else's arm **–** especially Malfoy's."

"Harry**,** I'm not trying to hurt you**,** and I don't want to, but I can't change the way I feel about either of you. All I know is that right now it is Draco I want** –** not you**,** Harry. I'm sorry, but that's how I feel and that's how it is for now."

After a few minutes of silence Ginny said, "Harry, I've got to get going."

As she headed toward the door Harry finally found his voice**.** "Okay, but Ginny**,** I just wanted to let you know how I feel."

"I know. Bye**,** Harry."

"Bye," Harry said quietly as Ginny turned and left.

Ginny was halfway out of the door when she was stopped by her mum**. **"Where are you going?"

"Home."

"Is 'home' the Malfoy Manor?"

"Yes – is there a problem with that?" Ginny said stubbornly**,** already knowing the answer.

"Yes**,** there is**,** as a matter of fact! Why in the world are you staying there?"

"Because**,** Mum, Draco was nice enough to let me stay there when I had nowhere else to go."

"Ginny**,** you know you can always stay here, even after our fight."

"I am sick of it here! And once I've earned enough I'm moving out of there too."

"Until then**,** why don't you stay here**?**"

"Because I am staying with Draco. End of discussion! Goodbye!" Ginny said**,** storming out of the front door**,** ignoring her Mum's warnings from behind her. She walked out into the middle of the yard and Apparated to Malfoy Manor.

When Ginny arrived on the steps of the Manor she was nearly in tears; walking through the door, she saw Draco, who immediately embraced her in a hug. He led her over to the couch**;** there she explained everything that had happened after he left.

Ginny thought this was the worst she had felt since the fight**;** little did she know it was about to get a whole lot worse.

**Thanks for reading and please let me know what you think.**


	4. Chapter 4: The Unwanted Visitor

**Thanks for keeping up with this story. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Two weeks had passed since Draco and Ginny's visit to The Burrow. And just like two weeks ago Ginny once again woke up in Draco's arms, not to the tapping owls but to the creak of an opening door. When she looked up she saw a tall, thin figure standing in the doorway with long white-blonde hair and a hard, cold face which seemed to be unaffected by Azkaban. Ginny stared into the shallow, cold face, trying to shrink into the covers. After a minute the cold drawl said, "Hello, Miss Weasley."

Ginny jumped and turned to the sleeping Draco, shaking his shoulder. Draco slowly opened his eyes, leaning in to kiss her before she could say anything. He went in for more, but she backed away. He saw her look of terror and whispered in her ear, "What's wrong, Gin?"

Ginny opened her mouth to talk, but nothing came out, so she pointed towards the visitor. Draco's eyes followed her arm; before he understood he was staring into the cold gray eyes of his father. Finally, Draco said, "Why in the bloody hell are you here?"

"This is _my_ house, Draco, in case you've forgotten," Lucius Malfoy said, glaring at Ginny and his son.

"Actually no, Father. This is isn't your house. When Mum died and you were sent to Azkaban for life it became my house."

"Really, Draco. Either way, this pure-blood traitor is not allowed in this house!"

"Father, whether you like it or not, she is staying here," Draco said, sticking up for Ginny.

She whispered in Draco's ear, "It's fine, Draco, I'll leave."

"But where will you stay, Gin?"

"I don't know; I can always go back to The Burrow if I have to."

"That run down shack is still standing, is it?" Lucius interjected.

"Yes, it is," Ginny said to Lucius Malfoy, then turned to Draco. "As I was saying, I can stay there, or with Hermione. I'll get a place of my own shortly."

"Meet me in Diagon Alley around noon," Draco said quietly so only Ginny could hear.

"Where?"

"Three Broomsticks, fine?"

"Yeah. I'll see you then."

"Are you going to get rid of her, or am I going to have to, Draco?"

"I need to get going," Ginny said as she got out of bed, wrapping the blanket around her and picking up her clothes from where they were discarded the previous night on the floor; she went to the bathroom.

Once Ginny was out of sight, Lucius said to his son, "Draco, you were sleeping with _her_!"

"Yes, Father. Now can you drop it? Thanks!" Draco said as the bathroom door opened and Ginny walked out fully dressed.

After staring at Lucius, she said to Draco, "I'll grab all my stuff and be gone. I've really enjoyed everything, Draco; thanks." Ginny turned and walked out of the door as Draco watched her go; he had a strong urge to follow after her.

"Everything? What is everything, Draco?" his father said, finally comprehending what Ginny had said.

"Well, Father, I guess you'll never know," Draco said as he got out of bed, pulled on his clothes, and walked past his father out of the door.

Ginny gathered her belongings, walked out of the front door of Malfoy Manor and Apparated.

She turned and saw a small house similar to The Shell Cottage. Walking up to the blue door and knocked. She heard footsteps coming toward her, and the door opened to reveal Hermione, who looked at her and then said, "Come in. Ron and Harry are going to be here shortly. I thought it'd be you."

Ginny went in and took a seat at the kitchen table where Hermione had been sitting waiting. "I have a question for you, Hermione," Ginny said once Hermione had taken a seat.

"What is it, Ginny?"

"I was wondering if I could stay here for a little while."

"That's not a problem. So did you and Draco have a fight?" Hermione asked, as there was another knock on the door. She yelled, "Come in guys!"

The door opened and in walked Ron and Harry. They said hello and also took seats around the kitchen table.

Once everything was settled down, Hermione asked again, "Did you and Draco have a fight, Ginny?"

As Harry and Ron looked back and forth between Hermione and Ginny, Ginny replied, "No, It's just that…"

"What?" Ron interjected.

"Lucius Malfoy is out of Azkaban," Ginny said, looking at their interested faces that suddenly changed to shocked disbelief.

"What?" stammered Ron. "Why?"

"I don't know, Ron. If I did do you think I'd be here telling you?"

"Why don't you ask your _boyfriend_, Malfoy?"

"I will when I meet him for lunch."

"Wait, did he break out?" asked Hermione.

"I don't know. I left before he could curse me, so I didn't find out."

"He couldn't have broken out."

"Hermione, it's happened before. Remember Sirius, Bellatrix, and the eleven others," said Harry, almost sounding scared, but Ginny knew he couldn't be.

"I'll ask Draco at lunch," she said, looking at the time. "I guess I should get going, it's 11:45."

"Tell us everything," said Hermione.

"I will when I get back," said Ginny as she got up, heading to the door. "Bye!"

When Ginny arrived in Diagon Ally she headed immediately to the Three Broomsticks. Upon entering, she looked around and saw that it was very crowded. It took a minute but eventually she spotted the white-blonde hair of Draco sitting in the far back corner. Walking over to the table, she stopped next to Draco and leaned in to kiss him. After she sat down she said, "What's going on?"

"First of all, I wanted to talk to you: I wanted to make sure you have somewhere to stay."

"I'm going to stay with Hermione for now, and shortly I'll have enough for my own place."

"Why don't you get your own place now?"

"Because I don't have enough money."

"I'll give you what you need to buy a house or rent an apartment. Whatever you need, Gin," Draco said, reaching across the table and grabbing her hands.

"No, I can't take your money, Draco. Your Father would kill you."

"I don't care about my Father, Gin. I care about you, and if you need money I can give it to you, no strings attached."

"Draco, I can't take your money. I've already stayed at your house for almost four months. You don't owe me anything."

"I haven't done nearly enough to make up for the past."

"I don't care about the past - only the future. I'm not taking your money. End of discussion. Okay?"

"Yeah…I guess it has to be okay, doesn't it?'

"Yes, it does. Why is your Father out of Azkaban?" Ginny said, trying to change the subject as quickly as possible.

"I can't say too much, but I think he'll be going back shortly."

'Why is he out?"

"Do you remember how they didn't put him in right away because he and my mother had helped Harry?"

Ginny nodded.

"They sent him to Azkaban when the Minister of Magic changed, and now the latest Minister believes that he was put in there unjustly. And he has been let out until he gets a fair trial and proof."

"Do you have proof to put him back?"

"I don't know, Gin, but if I did - even though I don't agree with him - he's my Father."

"I thought you said he was going back soon."

"I did; the Ministry probably has proof, but they, or the Minister, believe he should get a fair trial."

"I just don't understand why."

"Neither do I, but let's not talk about my Father right now."

"Fine. Is that all you wanted to talk about? I should probably get back to Hermione's."

"Gin, I'm serious about the money."

"I know, but I can't…"

"I insist, Gin."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"I'll pay you back as soon as I can, Draco."

"Whenever is fine. Now where are you going to stay?"

"I'm not sure…"

"Let's find a place, then," Draco said, getting up and taking her by the hand.

"Okay," Ginny said getting up and following.

They headed out of the door and started looking. They came across a gorgeous apartment that Draco loved, but Ginny said it was way too expensive. They found a small place that Ginny could live with, but Draco put his foot down and said he wasn't going to let her live there. Finally, after looking for what seemed like forever, they found a place – a one-bedroom apartment with a kitchen, living room, and bathroom – that they decided was perfect. Draco gave Ginny the money she needed and helped her to move in, by summoning her things from Hermione's. By the time they were finished it was well past one and too late to explain to Hermione, so Ginny decided to stay at her new apartment. As Draco went to leave, Ginny grabbed him by the arm. "Where are you going?"

"Home, I guess."

"You can stay here," she said, as she started to kiss him.

"If you insist," Draco said, following her into the bedroom.

**Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions please let me know. Thanks!**


	5. Chapter 5: Hold That Thought

**Here is the next chapter. I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Ginny woke up the next morning in her new apartment. She got out of bed and grabbed a piece of parchment and wrote:

_Hermione,_

_I'm sorry I didn't come back last night._

_I'll stop by today and explain everything._

_Sorry,_

_Ginny_

Once Ginny had sent the letter she turned to see if Draco was still sleeping, and saw nothing but a piece of paper lying on the pillow. She walked over, picked it up and read:

_Gin,_

_Sorry I had to go so soon, but_

_I knew my Dad would be furious_

_if he found out I spent the night_

_here. I'll see you at work this_

_afternoon._

_Love,_

_Draco_

Ginny read the letter several more times, her eyes lingering on the last two words each time, and then left for Hermione's.

When she knocked on the door, Hermione opened it. "Hey! I got your owl. What's going on?"

"Nothing. I just wanted to let you know not to worry."

"I figured you could take care of yourself; thought you might still be out with Draco. So what happened last night?"

"First we went to the Three Broomsticks, and then…" Ginny recounted last night's events to Hermione. She explained about Lucius and the apartment and was finally saying, "Draco lent me the money and –"

"Wait – you let him pay for your place?"

"Yeah; I'll pay him back soon. Is there a problem with that?"

"No, it just doesn't seem like something you'd do."

"Normally I wouldn't, but I really needed a place, and he offered, so I accepted."

"Okay, I'm not going to push. So you were saying…"

"Then he helped me move in and by that time it was past one, so he spent the night. When I woke up this morning this is what I found," said Ginny, showing Hermione the letter. "And that's about it."

"When do you have to work?"

"Noon," Ginny said, looking at the clock. "I should actually get going."

"Let me know how things go."

"I will," Ginny said, standing up and heading to the door. "Bye!"

Ginny walked out of the door and Apparated to St. Mungo's.

Ginny walked in, headed straight to the lift and immediately hit the button labeled APOTHECARY LAB. When the doors opened she went down the hall leading to the offices and hesitated at the door labeled DRACO MALFOY. She knocked; from inside she heard the familiar voice of Draco say, "Come in."

Ginny opened the door and stepped in, looking around. She was in an office very similar to hers, with a desk, filing cabinet, and a few chairs. Piled on the desk were file folders and she noticed that this office was more organized than hers ever was. Finally, she looked up at the blonde man sitting behind the desk, looking at her. Moving around the desk she said, "Hello," and leaned in to kiss Draco, then took a seat in one of the chairs opposite him.

When seated, she said, "Why'd you leave so early? I thought you weren't afraid of your dad."

"I'm not. I just didn't want him to know because you know he wouldn't approve of me renting an apartment for you."

"Oh," Ginny said, kind of hurt by his response.

"Don't worry about it, Gin. My father will be out of the picture very soon and we can go back to how things were."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Ginny said standing up, "I really should get back to work."

"Okay," was all Draco could say before Ginny disappeared.

Sitting back in her office with all of her paperwork spread around her desk Ginny put her face in her hands and thought about everything that had happened within the last 24 hours.

Lucius Malfoy had reappeared, she had moved out of Malfoy Manor into Hermione's and then by the end of the night she had agreed to let Draco rent an apartment for her. So much had happened and she found herself wondering when things would return to normal.

Over the next few weeks Ginny worked extra hard in order to repay Draco for the apartment and in between everything some how they found time to be together. Lucius was still living in the Manor and his trial was scheduled to take place in a week.

Standing from her desk Ginny took the now very familiar path down to the apothecary floor and to Draco's office. Once there she knocked and from behind the door heard, "Come in."

As Ginny opened the door and walked in Draco looked up from his work smiling and said, "I was hoping that was you."

"You seem happy."

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

"Nope, it's a good thing. So, why are you so happy?"

"Well because you're here and because I just found out that my dad is going to be out of the manor for the next few days."

"Why?" Ginny asked skeptically.

"He doesn't want to think about the trial in a week, so he's taking a trip somewhere."

"Well at least he won't be around," Ginny stated with a slight smile.

"I know," Draco replied, "so I was thinking you could come over for dinner after work and there will not be a problem since it will just be the two of us."

Ginny thought for a minute and then replied, "That sounds great."

"Good. Come over as soon as you get out and we will have dinner."

"Okay," Ginny said getting up to leave, "See you then."

"Yes, you will," Draco said, also rising.

After a short kiss Ginny turned and left Draco's office and made her way back to her own.

After finishing with work Ginny made a quick stop at her apartment to change and get anything she might need for her stay at Malfoy Manor and then Apparated to said Manor for her Lucius free dinner.

Knocking on the door Draco answered and ushered her into the manor. She followed him into the kitchen where he was preparing dinner. Once she had surveyed the scene Ginny asked, "What's for dinner?"

"I'm making steaks and baked potatoes if that is okay with you." Draco replied as he moved about the kitchen preparing the meal.

"I didn't know you cooked." Ginny stated.

"Yeah, I do. Somebody had to do the cooking after Potter set our house elf free," Draco joked causing Ginny to laugh. Then he added, "No, but seriously it's really not that much different that making potions, except for the fact that food doesn't taste nearly as bad as some of those potions."

"So, your food tastes bad?" Ginny questioned.

"No, that's not what I meant, but I guess you can be the judge of that," Draco stated while he finished up the meal.

After setting everything on two plates and getting everything ready Draco turned to Ginny and asked, "Are you ready to eat?"

"Yes, I am and everything smells so good."

"Thanks, but wait until you try it and see what you think," Draco replied as they took seats at the table and began to eat.

With Ginny's first bite came surprise, the steak was amazing and she was shocked that it had been made be Draco. Draco didn't miss the expression that came to her face and he asked, "So, does that face mean good or bad?"

"Good…very good. This is delicious Draco," Ginny said immediately.

"Well I'm glad you enjoy it."

The rest of the dinner went by without much commotion; all that could be heard was the clinking of silverware on plates and the sound of eating. After they were finished eating they sat there for a few minutes catching up on everything that had gone on during the time that Ginny wasn't allowed to come to the manor because of Lucius Malfoy. They were talking about what might happen at the trial when they heard a distant knock on the door. "I wonder who that is," Draco said getting up and heading towards the door. Ginny followed and was just turning the corner when she saw a woman with dark brown hair that was almost black throw herself into Draco's arms and pull him into a passionate kiss.

**Thanks for reading and please let me know what you think!**


	6. Chapter 6: Jumping to Conclusions

**Here is the next chapter. I hope you like it!**

* * *

At the sight of the woman in Draco's arms, Ginny's heart dropped in her stomach and she felt like she wanted to cry. Immediately she knew who the woman was, but she thought she was out of the picture since Draco hadn't mentioned her in over five months.

The woman was beautiful with dark brown, almost black, hair that fell with a wave just beneath her shoulders and a heart shaped face with round brown eyes and golden brown skin. She was even prettier than Ginny remembered she had been, but then again she hadn't seen her in over a year. This beautiful woman was Serena Gables, Draco's on and off girlfriend, whom he hadn't heard from in months.

When Serena was finally out of Draco's arms she turned and saw that they had company and upon recognizing the red head she said, "Ginny, it's been a long time since we've seen each other," and with that Serena pulled her into a hug also. When Serena finally released Ginny, Ginny immediately looked at Draco who had confusion written all over his face.

Ginny had made up her mind as soon as she had seen Serena and slowly made her way to the door saying, "I'll give you two sometime alone."

Draco looked at her apologetically and said, "Ginny you don't have to go."

"Yeah, I do," Ginny said as she backed out the door.

Draco saw the hurt look that was on Ginny's face and said, "Ginny wait…" but it was too late and with a small pop he heard Ginny Apparate. The last thing he saw before she disappeared into thin air were that tears that were rolling down her cheeks. If only she had given him time to explain he would have told her what he had long ago decided, but instead she was gone without giving him an opportunity to figure this situation out.

With tear blurred eyes Ginny looked up and saw the blue door that was Hermione's house. She knew she had a place of her own to go to, but she knew that memories of the two of them would invade her mind there and anyway she also knew she needed to talk to someone. Knocking on the door she heard Hermione coming and opened it letting the light from inside flood over the crying form of Ginny Weasley.

"What happened Gin?" Hermione asked as she led Ginny in to sit on the couch in front of the fireplace in her living room.

"Serena," is all that Ginny could say before a fresh was of emotions and tears wiped over her.

Once Ginny was clam once again Hermione asked, "What happened?"

"Serena came back."

"Serena?" Hermione asked slightly confused, knowing that she had heard that name some where before but not connecting the puzzle pieces.

'Serena Gables, Draco's girlfriend."

"Oh…" Hermione responded as everything clicked into place and she remembered everything that had to do with this situation. "I thought Draco and her were over."

"So did I, but she's back and it seems to appear as if they were never apart."

"What did Draco say about it?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Nothing. I left before he could say anything."

"Then you don't know for sure there back together. It could just be a big misunderstanding."

"Hermione, I know what I saw," was all Ginny said.

"Okay, what do you plan on doing now?"

"I don't know. I can't go back to the apartment right now because there are too many memories that I don't want to deal with right now and work is pretty much the same," Ginny answered, contemplating her options.

"You have to go back to work."

"No not right away. I have tons of vacation time saved up."

"Do you really plan on taking vacation time just so you can avoid Draco and the memories that are there?" Hermione asked skeptically.

"Yes, I do."

"You know you are going to face both of them sooner or later and taking time off is not going to make everything go away. You can only avoid the situation for so long before you have to confront it." Hermione tried to reason.

"I know, but a vacation sounds good right now," Ginny said thinking of where she might like to go for this trip she was suddenly planning. "Hey, Hermione do you want to come with me? We can go somewhere with a beach or to Paris or Italy or where ever you want to go," Ginny asked.

"Um…" Hermione was shocked by the sudden plans that her best friend was making, but went ahead and answered, "Yes, that sounds fun. I need to get away from all of this too."

"Great. Where do you want to go?" Ginny asked, happy that Hermione had agreed to come with her.

"What about a beach somewhere?"

"That sounds great," Ginny replied already picturing the beach and the blue ocean that she couldn't wait to visit.

"You know Harry and Ron are going to want to come once they find out about our plans," Hermione stated.

"I know, but this is going to be a girls trip," Ginny informed and then added, "Hey, how about we invite Luna to come along to. It will be more fun with three of us than it would be with two."

After a moment of thought, Hermione answered, "Sure, Luna would be fun to have around. She will always keep the mood up and our minds off everything that we are trying to leave behind."

"We will ask her tomorrow," Ginny said. "Do you mind if I spend the night here?"

"No, not at all Ginny."

"Thanks for everything Hermione."

"Don't mention it," Hermione said getting up and yawning.

It took Ginny a long time to get to sleep that night because her mind was racing with the up coming trip that they had suddenly decided to go on and the memories from earlier on that night with Draco and Serena. When she finally did fall asleep she woke up many different times after dreams of Serena and Draco playing throughout her mind.

**Thanks for reading and please let me know what you think!**


	7. Chapter 7: Getting Away

**Sorry for the wait but here is the next chapter.**

Upon waking up the next morning all of the events from the previous night came rushing back to Ginny. She was overcome by the memory of Serena throwing herself into Draco's arms and the events that took place after that. Lost in her thoughts Ginny didn't hear Hermione come into the kitchen and was not aware of her presence until she said, "So, Gin are we really going to do this?"

"Do what?" Ginny asked still lost in thought.

"Get the hell out of here and take a trip somewhere."

"Oh…yeah," Ginny replied still in a daze of memories.

"Okay, good. Are we still going to invite Luna?"

"Of course. Right after we get something to eat we can go visit her," Ginny replied finally pulling away from her thoughts.

After getting something to eat and getting ready Ginny and Hermione found themselves standing outside of the Quibbler building. They looked at each other and then walked in the front door not at all shocked when they saw how the place was decorated. All over there were things that represented Luna's character and her imagination. Finally finishing there inspection of the place they walked over to a desk in the far right corner. Ginny asked the secretary, "Is Luna Lovegood in today?"

"Yes, she just arrived. Do you have an appointment?" the receptionist asked looking up at both of them.

"No, but we are good friends of Luna's."

"What are your names?"

"Ginny Weasley and Hermione Granger," Ginny answered.

"Okay, I will let her know that you are here," the receptionist said as she wrote a note onto a piece of paper and folding it into a small airplane sent it down the hall to Luna's office.

Seconds later the office door opened and out came the very familiar blonde that was one of Ginny's very best friends. Smiling as she walked down the hall Luna addressed Ginny and Hermione; "It is nice to see both of you on this very fine day."

"Hello Luna. How are you?" Ginny asked her friend.

"I am great what about you?"

"Actually that's why we are here," Ginny replied.

"Well, then, why don't we go back into my office and talk?" Luna suggested.

"That sounds great," Ginny said as her and Hermione followed Luna down the hallway and into her interesting office. Luna's interesting taste could be seen throughout her office. In the back there was a huge desk that had everything she need to do her work for the Quibbler, but in the front was a sitting area type thing. The walls were painted powder puff blue and the carpeting was lavender purple and the comfy sofas sitting around a coffee table were a lemon yellow color. Everything clashed, but that was how Ginny knew Luna had decorated the office.

Taking a seat on one of the lemon yellow sofas Ginny started, "So, Luna we were thinking that we would go on a week long vacation somewhere, just to get away from everything here."

"That sounds fun," Luna replied happily.

"We were wondering if you would like to go with us?" Ginny asked her blonde friend.

"Yes, that sounds amazing," Luna replied in an ecstatic voice. "Where are we going?"

"We're not really sure, but definitely somewhere with a beach," Hermione finally spoke up.

"By the way, why have you suddenly decided to take a trip?" Luna asked and then added, "Not that I mind."

"I just need to get away from work and everything in my life," Ginny replied.

"Oh, okay," Luna replied, never the kind to asked too many questions, but Ginny had the feeling that she already knew the true reason for this trip.

"What about Cancùn?" Luna asked cheerily.

Ginny thought for a minute and then answered, "No, I don't really feel like going to Cancùn." Both girls in the room knew that this wasn't the real reason, but Ginny couldn't bring herself to say, _I don't want to go to Cancùn because they speak Spanish there and Spanish reminds me of Argentina which reminds me of Serena which reminds me of Draco and everything that I am trying to get away from by taking this trip._

"What about Hawaii?" Hermione asked after a moment of thought.

"That's perfect," both Luna and Ginny replied.

After some more talking and planning they had decided that they would be leaving in two days. Now all that was left to do was take off work and inform those who needed to know.

Back at Hermione's house Ginny said, "We should probably go to work and tell them that we plan on taking off the next week."

"Yeah," Hermione replied lost in thought.

"How about after I'm done at St. Mungo's I will come meet you at the Ministry and we can tell Harry and Ron then?" Ginny suggested.

"That sounds fine," Hermione replied. "I don't really feel like telling those two alone because you know they are going to try and talk us into letting them come along."

"I know. Okay well I will meet you there after I handle everything at the hospital."

"Okay I'll see you then," Hermione said as Ginny left.

Ginny walked into St. Mungo's and headed towards her boss' office and knocked on the door. A short balding man with round glasses opened the door that was Ginny's boss Mr. Clark Anderson. With a look of surprise he said, "Ginny, how can I help you?"

"I was hoping that I would be able to take the next week off," Ginny stated, hoping that she would be allowed.

"All next week?" Mr. Anderson asked while looking at the calendar that was sitting on his desk.

"Yes."

Looking over the days and the shifts that were filled he finally replied, "I see no problem with that. We have an extra few Healers working next week."

"Thank you very much Mr. Anderson," Ginny replied, feeling her dream become a reality.

"It is no problem Ms. Weasley. I will see you back here in a week," Mr. Anderson said as Ginny left his office.

She felt herself grow happier when she realized that she would be able to avoid everything that came with work and Draco for the next week. She decided that she should go finish up a few things in her office before she left, that way she would not be over loaded with work when she returned.

Once in her office she filled out a few forms and filed away some other forms of paperwork. When she was finished and getting ready to head to the Ministry to meet Hermione she heard someone clear his or her throat at her door. Looking up she met the familiar gray eyes that she was trying to avoid. The blonde in the doorway finally said, "Gin, let me explain everything about last night."

"There is nothing to explain, Draco," Ginny said as she gathered the last of her things and started to head towards the door to leave.

"There is. I didn't know Serena was coming and I'll tell you what I told her last night after you left."

"Yeah and that is that you were just using me until she got back. I don't want to hear it Draco. Now if you'll excuse me I have to go," Ginny said pushing past him and heading out to the hallway.

"Gin, wait that's not…" Draco tried to counter, but before he had a chance to say what he needed to say Ginny had turned the corner and was gone.

Ginny didn't want to hear anything that Draco was going to try and explain because she knew what she saw and didn't want to hear his lies. Once she was out on the street she Apparated to the Ministry of Magic where she was to meet Hermione. Walking through the entrance she saw the gold fountain that had long since been fixed after the battle between Dumbledore and Voldemort. Continuing on to the lifts Ginny proceeded to Hermione's floor and headed towards her office. When she got there her office door was opened and Ginny could she her sitting at her desk completely lost in the work she was doing. Walking in Ginny said, "Hey, I'm here. Are you ready to get this over with?"

Looking up Hermione replied, "Sure. Let's do this."

Both girls went down the hall to the office that was marked Harry Potter and walked in. Inside they found both Harry and Ron sitting there talking about the latest case that they were working on. They only looked up when Ginny said, "Hello guys."

"Oh, hello Ginny and Hermione," Harry replied.

"We need to talk to the two of you about something," Hermione started.

"Does it have something to do with Ginny and Draco?" Ron said giving them his full attention now.

"No," Ginny began, "It has to deal with the trip that Hermione, me, and Luna are going on."

"What trip?" Harry asked with interest.

They proceeded to inform the guys about what they had planned over that last few hours and they seemed disappointed when they were told that they were not invited. "Why can't we come?" Ron asked outraged.

"Because, Ron, it is a girls getaway and seeing as you are not a girl you are not invited," Ginny informed her brother.

"That doesn't seem fair," Ron countered.

"Life is not fair Ronald," Ginny shout back.

"Then why are you telling us?" Harry asked.

"Because when we are missing for a week you will now know where we are and you will not have to send out a search party," Ginny answered.

"Oh, okay."

"It is not okay Harry," Ron continued to argue.

"Yes, Ron it is. If they want to take a trip without inviting us they are free to do so. Even if we don't agree with their decision," Harry explained to his best friend.

"I still don't think it's fair."

"Oh well Ron. Do you guys want to come over for dinner tonight so we can talk?" Hermione asked.

"Sure," Harry answered.

"Okay good. Come by my place at seven."

"Okay see you then," Harry answered as Hermione and Ginny left.

Once outside of the Ministry Hermione said, "Well that went better than I thought."

"Yeah, I thought Harry would be against us too."

"You don't give Harry enough credit Ginny."

"Yeah, well…" Ginny said as they made their way back to Hermione's place.

Right around seven there was a knock at Hermione's door and Ginny went to open it, revealing Harry and Ron. "Hello," she said as they came into the house.

After a few moments of chatting the dinner was ready and they sat down at the table and enjoyed the meal and company. They talked of everything from work to the news to the vacation that Hermione and Ginny would be departing on in a matter of days. The whole time avoiding the questions Ginny knew were soon to come. After they exhausted every other topic that they could think of Harry finally turned to Ginny and asked, "So, what happened to Malfoy?"

"Nothing," Ginny finally said.

"Gin, I know you better than that. Something happened," Harry replied looking at Ginny across the table.

"Nothing happened Harry because there wasn't anything there to begin with," Ginny tried to convince them, but she wasn't sure if she was trying to convince them or herself.

"Okay," Harry said letting the topic drop for the time being. When Ginny looked at him she knew that he knew more than he was letting on, but he wasn't going to question her in front of her brother and best friend.

Eventually Ginny knew she had to face the inevitable when Harry turned to her and said, "Gin, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Yeah, I guess," Ginny replied reluctantly.

Once Hermione had drug Ron into the other room Harry turned to Ginny again and asked, "So, what really happened with Malfoy?"

"Like I said earlier Harry, nothing happened because there wasn't anything there to begin with," Ginny found herself repeating, but not believing a word that was coming out of her own mouth.

"There had to be something there Ginny because you were staying at Malfoy Manor for more than five months."

"There was nothing there Harry, so can we just stop talking about it," Ginny said desperately.

"Fine, I guess I don't really have another choice do I?"

"No, you don't."

"Okay. Well, on a different note, I hope you have a great time in Hawaii," Harry said changing the subject.

"Thanks. I'm pretty sure we will," Ginny replied.

After a few seconds Harry had seemed to make up his mind and took a few steps closer to Ginny and leaning in pressed his lips to hers. Before she knew what was happening Harry was gently kissing her, but she felt like she was kissing her best friend. This kiss lacked the passion and heat that Draco's kisses possessed. Slowly Ginny placed her hands on Harry's chest and gently pushed him away. He looked up into her eyes and all she saw in his green orbs was confusion. She then said, "Harry, I'm sorry. I just can't do this right now."

Harry nodded in understanding, but the hurt he was feeling was written all over his face. Ginny felt terrible about what she had just done, but knew it was the right thing because she had truly felt nothing and she could not lead Harry on like that. This was just one more thing that she would be happy to escape when they were vacationing in Hawaii.

**Thanks for reading and please let me know what you think!**


	8. Chapter 8: Escaping to Paradise

**I am so sorry for the long wait...things have just been hectic and I didn't ahve time to write. When I finally got some more chapters done the site wouldnt let me update, but I promise everything will be coming up quickly now. I already have most of the story written, I only have about 5 chapters left to write until the story is actually complete. The complete story will be about 30 chapters. Thanks again and sorry for the long wait.**

* * *

Opening her eyes, Ginny saw the beaches and felt the ocean breeze against her skin. They had just arrived in Hawaii and Ginny was already feeling all of her problems from home washing away as she was brought into her surroundings. She was brought out of her thoughts when Hermione exclaimed, "Wow! This is even more beautiful than I thought."

Looking around both Ginny and Luna agreed with that statement and all three of them seemed lost in thought and what was going on around them.

After taking in their surroundings they headed off to the hotel to check in and put all of their belongings in the room. They went to the desk in the lobby of the hotel and checked into their room, receiving their room keys and pamphlets informing them on everything they would need to know. Then the three walked to the elevator and pushed the little button that said 3. Once on the third floor they found room 313, the room they would be living in for the next week. Upon opening the door they saw the room and were impressed by how perfect it was for them. There were two beds and one pull out couch, along with a table and chairs in the mini kitchenette that was in the room. Along one wall was a television that got too many channels to count and along the wall opposite of the door there was an all glass wall that held a sliding door that went out to the balcony that gave them an amazing view of the ocean and beach.

Once they were settled they headed down to the beach where they sat for the next few hours soaking in the sun and just catching up on things they hadn't been able to talk about before. Eventually they went to dinner and then returned back to the balcony in the hotel room to watch the sun set. Finally they turned in for the night after a very long day of arriving and getting settled in.

The next few days they returned to the beach, but also went to the hotel pool just to relax. During the afternoons they went to the small little shops that lined the streets of the town and they took in some of the sights that the island had to offer them. They visited many different shops some big and some small, some old and some new, and some carrying jewelry and some carrying clothes. Before dinner they would return back to their room to drop of their purchases and change into different clothes for the night out. They would have dinner and then sometimes they would walk along the beach collecting shells as the sun set and others they would choose to walk around the town and see what the nightlife had to offer. On other days they would go to the different beaches that lined the island and watched the surfers that were catching some waves. On their fourth day in Hawaii while watching the surfers Ginny said, "I would love to learn how to surf."

"Why don't we learn while we're here?" Luna suggested.

"That's an amazing idea, except for the fact I have no idea who we would get to teach us."

"Why don't we just ask one of the locals where they suggest we should go to learn?" Luna suggested again.

"Okay," Ginny said as she looked around at the beach for someone she might be able to ask. When she saw a girl who appeared to be a few years younger than herself with long black hair that rested half way down her back and dark sun-kissed skin she turned to her friends and said, "I think I'll go ask her."

"Ginny, I'm not sure about this," Hermione worriedly stated.

"It will be fine," Ginny said standing up and heading over to the girl.

"Excuse me," Ginny said as she reached the young Hawaiian girl.

"Yes?" the girl asked as she turned to meet Ginny.

'Would you happen to know where me and my friends could learn how to surf?"

After a second of thought the Hawaiian girl answered, "I can teach you. How many of you are there?"

"Three," Ginny answered, shocked that the girl had offered to teach them, but also grateful.

"I can get my brother and sister and we can teach you if you would like."

"Would you really do that?" Ginny asked.

"Yeah, it's no problem. Surfing is mostly our life and we can teach you in no time," the girl answered and then added, "By the way I'm Kai."

"I'm Ginny," Ginny replied.

"Nice to meet you Ginny," Kai said, "Let me go talk to my brother and sister and see if they are up for it and then I'll let you know for sure."

"Okay. Thanks Kai."

"Like I said it's no problem. I'll go see what they say," Kai said as she headed over to a girl who looked almost exactly like her, but who appeared a year or two older, and a young man who had short dark hair, but also very closely resembled his sisters who appeared to be about Ginny's age.

Ginny went back over to Luna and Hermione and said, "Kai says that her and her brother and sister should be able to teach us. She just went to ask them and will let us know for sure in a minute."

After a minute of conversation Kai turned and headed toward the three girls sitting on the sand followed by both her brother and sister. When they reached them Kai said to Ginny, "We'd be more than happy to teach you how to surf."

"Really?" Hermione asked skeptically.

"Yeah, it's no problem. Like I told Ginny surfing is mostly our life and we love doing it."

"Yay!" Luna said clapping her hands together, "I can't wait to learn to surf."

Ginny laughed at her friend and turned to Kai and her siblings and said, "This is Luna and that is Hermione," she informed as she pointed to her friends.

"Nice to meet you Luna and Hermione," Kai said before introducing her siblings. Pointing to her sister she said, "This is my older sister Lana," then pointing to her brother, "This is my older brother Kale."

Ginny smiled and said, "Nice to meet both of you. So when can we get started?"

"Right away if you'd like," Kale responded.

"Ginny probably forgot to mention it, but we don't have surf boards," Hermione informed the three standing in front of them.

"That's no problem," Kale replied, "We have extras back at the house," he said as he pointed towards a nice looking house located on the beach.

Standing Ginny said, "Do you need help getting them?"

"Sure," he replied as he smiled at Ginny.

"I'll come help you if you want," Ginny offered.

"Yeah, that's fine," he replied to Ginny and then turning to Kai and Lana he said, "We'll get the boards and then we can start."

"Okay," Kai said as she and Lana sat down by Hermione and Luna and started to talk.

"Follow me," Kale said starting to lead the way towards the house he had indicated. On the way he asked, "So what brings you to Hawaii?"

"We just needed to get away from everything back at home," Ginny answered honestly.

"Where are you from?"

"England," Ginny answered.

"I have always wanted to go to England, especially London. What is it like?" Kale asked.

"It's nice…" Ginny replied and then went into describing it in more detail and answering his questions as they came up to the house.

When they got to the house Kale lead the way to the garage where the boards were located and he pulled out three handing one to Ginny to carry and he carried two. On the way back he asked, "How old are you Ginny?"

"Twenty-one," she replied, "What about you?"

"I just turned twenty-two a week ago," Kale answered and then asked, "What about Luna and Hermione?"

"Luna's my age and Hermione is a year older so I guess she is your age. What about Kai and Lana?"

"Lana is almost twenty-one and Kai is nineteen," Kale answered as they approached the four girls sitting and talking on the beach. When they reached the four girls Kale said, "Whenever everyone is ready we can start."

Taking boards from Kale, Luna and Hermione stood up and awaited instruction. Than Lana said, "While you two were getting the boards we decided that I while teach Hermione, Kai will teach Luna, and you, Kale, can teach Ginny. If that is okay with both of you."

"Yeah that's fine with me," Kale answered looking at Ginny to see what she thought.

"That sounds great," Ginny responded.

The six of them headed out towards the water and they each got their instructions from their teacher. They all started with little steps and then got bigger until they were able to actually surf. They weren't able to do anything fancy quite yet, but they were now able to say that they were able to surf. After their success they all headed back to the beach and realized that it had already reached dinnertime.

Once everyone had returned to the beach Kai asked, "So, what else do you three plan on doing tonight?"

"Well, we were going to get some dinner and then see what that led to," Ginny replied.

"Why don't you come to dinner with us and then we can show you around afterwards?" Lana suggested.

"That sounds good," Ginny replied, "Just let us get changed first and we will be ready for whatever."

"Let's meet back here in a half an hour and we can head to dinner from there," Kai said.

"That sounds perfect. Where do you plan on taking us for dinner?" Ginny asked.

"I was thinking we could go to the restaurant located in the Palm Tree Springs hotel," Kai informed.

"Oh, that's where we're staying," piped in Luna.

"Okay, then why don't we meet you in the lobby instead of here," Kale suggested.

"That sounds good," Ginny said, "See you then."

"Yeah see you then," Lana said as the three headed off to the house in the distance while Luna, Hermione, and Ginny headed back to the hotel.

Ginny changed into a hot pink halter top, denim mini skirt, and matching pink flip-flops and looking in the mirror decided she was ready. Looking at her friends they also appeared ready and they headed down to the hotel lobby to wait for Kai, Lana, and Kale.

When the three of them were approaching Ginny couldn't help but notice that Kale was wearing loose, low riding jeans and a gray t-shirt that hugged his well-toned body nicely and couldn't help but think that he look, for lack of a better word, hot.

"Ready to eat?" he asked as they approached.

"Definitely," Ginny replied.

Walking into the restaurant Ginny noticed that it was packed and wondered out loud, "Is there going to be a table for us?"

"Yeah," Kale responded as he walked over to the podium where the hostess stood. Upon his approach she heard the hostess say, "Ah, Mr. Keahi, how many do you have in your party?"

"Six," Kale responded.

"Follow me," the hostess said as she lead the six of them past the many waiting couples and to a table in the secluded from the rest. "Here you are," the hostess said as she set out menus for everyone and left.

"How did you do that?" Ginny asked curiously.

"Our parents own this hotel," Kale informed her.

"Oh," was all Ginny could say. Everything clicked together at that point, the immediate service and the huge ocean front house, along with the extra surf boards and all the other surfing equipment that she had seen in the garage and the very expensive cars that were located in their driveway.

They sat there talking until their food arrived and then it fell very quiet as everyone enjoyed their meal. After they were done Luna asked, "So where are you going to take us now?"

"We were thinking that we could go out dancing. If that is okay with all of you," Kai filled them in.

"That sounds fun," Hermione replied for the three of them.

They went down the street and entered the club that Kai had been talking about. Over the few hours that they were there they danced and talked some more. Ginny found herself dancing with Kale the majority of the time and wondered what was going on with her. This guy standing in front of her was perfect, he was tall, dark, and handsome and just her type, but she couldn't get herself to stop thinking about another guy. A guy who could be considered tall, pale, and handsome and no matter how hard she tried she couldn't get his blonde hair or his gray eyes out of her mind. He was all she could think about, but he was also the reason she felt the need to get away from everything. She was not sure what she was feeling, but all she knew is that he was the only thing that occupied her mind even when she was dancing with this amazing and hot guy in front of her. "Are you okay Ginny?" Kale asked bringing her back from her thoughts.

"Yeah, I'm just tired," Ginny lied.

"Yeah, it is getting kind of late," he said looking at his phone. "We should probably start heading back."

"Okay. Let's go find everyone," Ginny replied.

Once everyone was located they made their way back to the hotel where they said goodbye to Kai, Lana, and Kale. They weren't sure if they would see them again tomorrow, but it had been an amazing time and the three witches had learned how to surf.

They were back in the hotel room when Hermione asked, "Is something wrong Gin? It seems like something is one your mind."

"I'm fine, but something is on my mind," Ginny replied not sure where she was going with this, but then added, "The other night after dinner at your place Hermione, Harry kissed me."

Both of her friends stared at her with slightly shocked expressions, which soon turned to comprehension. Finally Hermione asked, "And?"

"And what?" Ginny questioned.

"What did you feel?"

After a minute of thought Ginny replied, "Nothing. Now I don't know what to do."

"Things will work themselves out once we get back. Just don't worry about it now," Luna advised.

Ginny nodded and then headed off to get ready for bed. Lying in the hotel room trying to get to sleep Ginny's mind was once again overcome by thoughts of a certain blonde who she was trying to escape. No matter how hard she tried she could not seem to escape the thoughts and dreams that kept floating into her head, as she lay there awake. Right before she fell asleep that night she came to the realization the she had, against her better judgment, fallen in love with Draco Malfoy.

**Thanks for reading! I would appreciate reviews.**


	9. Chapter 9: Back to Reality

**Like I promised heres the next chapter. I hope you enjoyed and thanks to those who reviewed I really appreciate it. Now enough with that I will let you read. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

The next few days passed in a blur and before they knew it Luna, Hermione, and Ginny were back at Hermione's house. They had just returned and found it best to travel together so they all went back to Hermione's and then went their separate ways from there.

The last week in Hawaii had been amazing and all three of them had had a great time, but Ginny knew it was time to get back to her everyday life and she also knew that she had to face everything that she was running away from, especially Harry and Draco.

After goodbyes and making sure she had everything Ginny turned on the spot and found herself back in her apartment that she had been trying to avoid. After setting everything on the ground she flipped on the lights and was surprised when she saw the surroundings. At her kitchen table she saw a candlelit dinner set up and soft music was playing in the background. She wasn't sure how she had missed the music or the delicious smell of the food when she walked in the door, but then again a certain person had occupied her thoughts. It took her a moment to figure out who the culprit was that had set this up, but then her eyes landed on the man who was sitting on her couch watching her take in her surroundings.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Ginny tried to demand angrily, but she found it very hard to be angry with this man.

"I figured I'd make you dinner and I was hoping that you would give me a chance to explain everything that happened the other night," The man replied.

"How the hell did you get in here?" Ginny asked, trying to remember if she put up all of the locking charms.

"You seem to forget that I am also a wizard and that I rented this place for you," Draco replied walking towards her until he was able to take her hand in his and looking into her eyes, he added, "Please let me explain Ginny."

After a few seconds Ginny reluctantly said, "Fine." She would be lying if she said she was not curious of what he was getting at or if she said she didn't want to know what had happened between Draco and Serena.

After a while of eating in silence, Ginny finally said, "So, what is your explanation?"

Draco looked into her eyes and thought for a moment and then answered, "First of all I want to say that you jumped to the wrong conclusion when you saw Serena the other day."

"I know what I saw Draco," Ginny stubbornly replied.

"Yes, but you assumed something that wasn't there. You made yourself see things that weren't really happening and you took everything the wrong way and left before I could explain it to you."

"Well, then explain it to me because clearly I don't understand."

"If you would stop interrupting me, then maybe I could," Draco retorted and then continued, "I didn't know that Serena was coming back and I was under the impression that we were through. Apparently she thought differently and that is also what you thought when you saw the two of us, but you need to know that I had already decided a long time ago that if she every decided to come back I would tell her what I am about to tell you," Draco said and then paused.

"Which is?" Ginny questioned.

"Which is that things are over between the two of us, Serena and me that is. I told her I had moved on and was better off without her and I truly thought I was until you reacted the way you did. I was never planning on ending things with you Ginny, I was ending things with Serena and that's what I told her that night. That's what I wanted to tell you that night and also that day at St. Mungo's, but you wouldn't allow me to say anything. You rushed out of both places before I could tell you what had happened, but now I guess you know," Draco explained to Ginny.

Ginny was shocked, her assumption had been way off and she was starting to feel guilty about what she had done. Slowly she asked, "You weren't going to leave me for Serena?"

"Hell no!" Draco said taking Ginny's hands, "Hell no Ginny! I love YOU! Not Serena!"

Ginny sat there taking in what he had just said; he had just told her that _he _loved _her_. As this realization was setting in Draco spoke up once again and informed Ginny, "By the way my dad is back in Azkaban."

"He is?"

"Yes," Draco paused and then added, "Ginny, I've been thinking."

"About what?" Ginny asked started to get worried.

"About us."

"What about us?"

"If there is going to be an 'us' then I think we need to try and work things out with your family," Draco voiced his concerns.

"Why do you think this?" Ginny questioned.

"While you were gone I ran into your family at Gringott's and they were worried about you. They're worried about you being with me and I don't want you family to be mad at you or me for that matter."

"Why do you care what my family thinks about either of us?"

"Because you never know when it's all going to get taken away from you."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that something could happen that you'd lose one of them, like you've already lost Fred."

"Where's this all coming from?" Ginny said surprised at what was happening and shocked because she had never seen this side of Draco before.

"I realized when my dad was sent back to Azkaban that I have lost everyone in my family, first my mum and then my dad. I've never had the family you have and I don't want you to lose it because of me. I know what it's like and I don't want you to go through that."

"Wow, I didn't know you felt that way. You want to be on good terms with my family even if they do hate you."

"As much as I can be. To tell you the truth Gin, you're the only one I have left and I don't want to lose you because of how your family feels about me. I want to try and fix it, I'll do whatever it takes."

"Fine, but I don't know how well my family will take this."

"I know, but I want to at least try to change how they see me."

At that moment without thinking Ginny stood up from the table and moving over to where Draco was sitting she kissed him with as much passion as she could muster, she had never seen this side of Draco before, but she would be lying if she said it didn't get to her. Before she knew it he was standing and she was leading him into her room and showing him how much she had missed him and telling him without words how much she loved him. Ginny soon relieved Draco of his shirt in one swift motion and then moved on fumbling with his belt. Both garments found their way to the floor as Draco pulled Ginny's shirt off of her and continued his exploration of her neck and downwards. Ginny found her way back to Draco's warm lips and kissing pulled him back on to the bed.

Ginny once again fell asleep in Draco's arms without regrets and she was sure she was in love with none other than Draco Malfoy.

**Thanks for reading the next chapter will be up soon and Id love to know what you thought.**


	10. Chapter 10: Mixed Up

**Here you go and I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Ginny woke up the next morning with the realization that she needed to try and get her family to understand how she felt about Draco. She had no idea how to go about any of this, all she knew was somehow she would need to get them to see past Draco's past and see what he had become. Ginny lay there in Draco's bed; her mind racing with ways to make her dreams a reality. The biggest problem would be getting Harry to understand. Hermione would be easy because she already knew how Ginny felt and would try to accept that.

As Ginny lay there thinking parts of a dream she had the previous night came back to her. All she remembered was yelling, crying, and disappointment. Ginny pushed the memory to the back of her mind and slid out of bed. She slid on Draco's black silk robe that was lying on the bed and went to the kitchen for breakfast.

Stopping in the doorway Ginny saw Draco sitting at the table with a cup of coffee in his hands, staring out the window in thought watching the sunrise and wearing nothing but boxers. The sight sent shivers down Ginny's spine. She ignored the feeling because she knew what was on his mind, the same thing that had caused her a restless night of sleep: her family.

Breaking out of her reverie she walked up behind him wrapping her arms around his neck and whispering in his ear, for the first time, "I love you Draco."

He turned and pulled her onto his lap and replied, "I love you too, Gin," while kissing her hair.

On Draco's lap Ginny snuggled up to his chest and laid her head on his shoulder while he tightened his arms around her and asked, "Couldn't sleep?"

"Nope."

"Same. I couldn't stop thinking about what we're going to do."

"Me either, but I know I need to talk to Hermione first and see what she has to say. I also know before we're going to get anywhere with my family I have to talk to Harry."

Draco sighed and said, "I was hoping you wouldn't say that, but I know it's true. Before I can get anywhere with you family _I_ have to talk to Harry."

"_We_ have to talk to Harry."

"I have to solve my differences with him."

"Yes, but I also have to fix everything."

"So, Harry first," Draco said, already dreading the encounter.

"Yes, after I talk to Hermione," Ginny said sliding off Draco's lap.

"Now?" Draco asked catching Ginny's arm.

"The sooner the better," Draco nodded and released her arm.

After breakfast and a shower Ginny went back to the kitchen where Draco still sat. She leaned down, gave him a kiss and said, "I'm going to be at Hermione's. When I'm done I'll come back and explain."

"You sure you don't want me to come."

"You don't need to. It will make it easier if it was just me," Draco nodded in response and then watched her leave.

Once again Ginny found herself knocking on the blue door of the Shell Cottage look-a-like. After knocking Ginny stood back and wait while Hermione came to the door.

Inside they sat down on a floral print couch and Ginny began, "Hermione, I need your advice.'

"On what?" Hermione asked looking concerned.

"Draco and my family."

"What?"

"Well…" Ginny launched into an explanation of the two previous days. She told Hermione about the misunderstanding with Serena, the conversation in the meadow, and the side of Draco she had never seen before.

"He wants to be on good terms with your family," Hermione said, shocked.

"Yes and I understand where he's coming from, but reconciling him and my family is a near to impossible task. So, I need your help."

"I don't know what to say, Gin. That's going to be difficult."

"I know, but I also know I will have to face Harry first."

"Yes, you will, but you really think he's going to be able to overlook the past."

"I hope he can, because if I can't get it through to him that this is what I want and need, I'll never be able to get though to my family."

"Exactly."

"What do you think I need to do?"

"Your best bet will to be honest with him, tell him everything and _make_ him see it your way."

"Should I bring Draco?"

"Is he willing to go?"

"Yes."

"Not the first time, just you and Harry first and then ease him into talking to Draco."

"Okay, I'll try that. Thanks!"

"No problem. If you need anything else let me know. Good luck and I'll try and get Ron to ease up."

"Okay, great. I guess I should go attempt to make Harry see it my way."

"Yeah, good luck."

"Thanks, I'm going to need it," Ginny said walking out the door and headed to Malfoy Manor to explain to Draco.

Ginny found Draco sitting in the library with a book in hand, but obviously something was bothering him. Ginny went over to him, took the book and set it on a table and then slid onto his lap. He pulled her in, but still didn't say a word.

Ginny searched his expressionless gray eyes and running a hand through platinum blonde hair and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just thinking," he said breaking eye contact.

Ginny took his face in her hands and turned his eyes back to hers and once again asked, "Draco, what's wrong?"

Giving in he said, "What if your family doesn't accept me?"

"They will."

"What if they don't Gin? What if they can't see past my past mistakes and my family? What if I haven't changed? What if they're right and I can never be right for you? What if I _am_ like my father? What if…"

"You are _not_ your father Draco!" Ginny interrupted. "You are not that guy and you never have been!"

"What if you're wrong?"

"I am not! I know you! I know who you are and trust me you are not that person!"

"I guess…"

"Draco," Ginny said softly never breaking eye contact, "Just trust me. I will make them accept you. No matter what it takes, I won't abandon you. I never will. I love you and that's all that matters."

Draco sat in silence taking in everything she just said and looking back into shining brown eyes he said, "I love you too."

"And that's all that matters."

"Exactly, so what happened?" Draco said returning to his usual self.

Ginny explained everything that happened at Hermione's and then said, "I need to go to Harry's alone and talk to him, tell him everything. Once we're on the same page we will deal with his hate for you, but I have to do this much on my own."

"I understand. When are you going?"

"Now," Ginny said standing up and heading towards the door.

"Be careful and good luck," Draco said following Ginny out of the library.


	11. Chapter 11: Don't Want to Be Torn

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Ginny found herself on the doorstep of number twelve Grimmauld Place. When she entered the front hallway she spotted Kreacher heading down the hallway and asked, "Kreacher, is Harry here?"

"He's in the kitchen, miss," the house-elf said as he turned into a room. Ginny couldn't help but notice the difference in Kreacher's behavior between now and their first encounter.

Ginny headed to the kitchen and upon entering saw Harry sitting at the table reading the Prophet. He looked up when she said, "Harry, can we talk?"

"Yeah, let's go somewhere else, though."

Ginny nodded and followed Harry into one of the many familiar rooms of Grimmauld Place. She took a seat and said, "I need to talk to you about us and me and Draco."

"I figured," Harry said sitting next to her.

"Harry, just remember this isn't to hurt you."

"I will."

"I loved what we used to have and I used to want it back, but in reality I know I made the right choice concerning you and me and I don't regret it. I'm glad we gave it a chance, but my feelings changed and I needed to move on with my life. I'm glad we're still friends, but you need to understand that's all that is left between us."

"I do."

"Do you?"

"Yes, but I can't help but think that we made the wrong choice."

"I know I didn't. I've moved on Harry, and yes I've moved on with Draco, but I don't regret that either. I love him and I know how you, Ron, and the rest of my family feel about him, but I can't help it. I'm not the same little girl you met your first time at King's Cross or from the Chamber of Secrets I've changed. It's not easy, but I'm trying to listen to my heart and all it says is Draco."

"I can't say I'm happy Gin. I still think there's something you're missing. You and Malfoy is not a good idea and I don't like your choice one bit."

"Harry, please don't tell me you're going to make me pick between you and Draco.'

"If I did?"

"I'd be torn, but I would pick him in the end."

Ginny's last remark caused Harry's face to fall and he looked close to tears.

"Harry, I'm sorry, but this is how I feel."

"You'd really choose _Malfoy _over me."

"Harry don't make me choose, but if you did yes, I would."

"Why?"

"I love _him_."

"I love _you_."

"Harry…why can't you find someone else who's perfect for you?"

"Because no other girl in the world compares to you, Gin. What does that tell you?"

"We can't be friends," Ginny answered before thinking.

"Exactly."

"What?" Ginny said worrying that she just made a huge mistake.

"Gin, I want to be more than friends and that will never change."

"Harry…"

"It might be the best for both of us."

"Please, no, Harry."

"I can try, but I won't promise anything."

"Great," Ginny said in relief, while hugging Harry and then said, "Will you please talk to Draco and try and get past your differences?"

"Gin."

"Please Harry," she begged.

"Fine, but I think that might be close to impossible."

"Try."

"I will, if he will."

"He will."

"When are you going to force me to talk to him?"

"Why don't you come over tonight around eight."

"Malfoy Manor?"

"Yes."

"I'll be there."

"Thanks Harry. This means a lot to me. I have to go," Ginny said leaving before Harry could change his mind and worrying about Draco's reaction.

When Ginny next saw Draco he wore a look of worry and concern and said, "How'd it go?"

"I'm not sure," Ginny said and then told Draco all that had happened and been said, finishing with, "He's coming over at eight so you can talk to him."

"What! He's coming here!" Draco said on the edge of anger.

"Yes. Don't get mad. I don't want to fight with you Draco," Ginny said warily.

"Fine. I won't say anything, yet. I'll try and explain everything."

"Please behave tonight Draco."

"And if I don't?"

"I'll have to punish you."

"Is that a threat," Draco said smiling and advancing on Ginny.

"No, it's a promise," Ginny said laughing while Draco closed the gap between them.

"Good," Draco said pulling her against him and kissing her, first sweetly and then passionately. Ginny had one hand tangled in white-blonde hair and the other tracing the definition of Draco's chiseled chest. Ginny was oblivious to her surroundings and to anything but Draco, until his hands slid up and under her shirt, exploring her back. His touch sent shivers down her spine and brought her back to the present. As Draco went to pull off her shirt she backed away earning herself a hurt, but confused look. She explained, "Draco, we can't now. I have to get ready and Harry will be here soon."

"Fine," Draco sighed trying to catch his breath.

Ginny kissed him once more and then headed to get ready.

From the depths of the Manor Ginny heard a knock at the door and raced to answer before Draco could. Turning the last corner Ginny saw that she was too late. Draco was already opening the door to reveal Harry.

Staring at the white-blonde holding open the door Harry said, "_Malfoy_."

"_Potter_."

"Can I come in?"

Draco stood back to allow Harry to pass and closed the door behind him.

Ginny came forward, greeted Harry with a hug while shooting a look at Draco to behave. Then led Harry to the sitting room, followed by Draco. Once everyone was settled Ginny said, "Harry thanks for coming. I'm glad you two are going to try and work this out.'

Ginny's speech was followed by silence. Neither Draco nor Harry moved to be the first to apologize, which was making Ginny upset. The silence was broken by a knock at the door. Ginny got up saying, "I invited Hermione too."

"What!" Draco said, his anger flaring.

"I invited Hermione," Ginny reiterated and left the room hoping Draco's anger would die down.

Ginny opened the door to reveal Hermione's worried figure. After the door clicked shut Hermione asked, "How is it going?"

"Not so well. They haven't said more than two words to each other."

"Really?"

"Really," Ginny answered as they both went back to the sitting room.

"There's no way in hell I'm ever going to forgive you _Malfoy_!"

"Then why in the bloody hell are you here!"

"Ginny wanted me to come."

"So, you're only here because you're still in love with her. Is that it? Because if it is you're in for a rude awakening, _Potter_!" Draco spat at Harry, causing silence to once again fall on the room.

Ginny looked back and forth between Draco and Harry and saw Draco's face was red with anger and Harry's a mix of anger and embarrassment.

Tears silently rolled down Ginny's freckled cheeks with the realization that Draco would never be accepted in her family and that she would be forced to choose between Draco and not only Harry, but also her entire family.

Ginny watched through tear-filled eyes as Harry silently turned and walked out the door.

Ginny collapsed in a nearby chair and sat there for hours, crying and thinking. Both Hermione and Draco tried to comfort her, but she heard none of their words. All she heard was the argument and her thoughts. Eventually, Hermione left and Draco wrapped his arms around Ginny attempting to comfort. All she felt was the breaking of her heart. Draco soon followed suit and left her to her thoughts, but only after wrapping her in a blanket.

Ginny was left alone in the dark with only her thoughts. Ginny's mind raced with thoughts from the past, everything jumbled and making little sense. She remembered past holidays, her first encounter with Harry, the Chamber of Secrets, the diary planted by Lucius Malfoy, Egypt, Hogwarts, OWLS, Dumbledore's Army, fighting, family, Dumbledore's funeral, Fred's death, dreams, weddings, friends, surfing, Hawaii and her decisions. Through all of these memories she kept remembering what her Mum had told her years ago, "Follow your heart."

In the end her thoughts kept coming back to her Mum's words and Ginny found herself thinking, _I thought you said it was easy, listening to your heart. I thought you said I'd be okay, so why am I breaking apart. I don't want to be torn. I don't want to be torn. I don't want to be torn. _Ginny's tears came harder as she thought, _Why is all this so confusing, complicated, and consuming? Why does all this make me angry? I want to go back to being happy. I don't want to be torn._

Slowly Ginny stood up and trudged up to Draco's room. Without changing she pulled back the covers and slid in. In Draco's arms Ginny dozed off into another restless night of sleep.

**Thanks for reading and i'd love to know what you think. **

**Also, Ginny's thoughts in the second last paragraph are from a Hannah Montana song "Don't Wanna Be Torn"...I just want to give credit where credits due. I heard them and they just fit perfectly so I used them.**


	12. Chapter 12: Waking Up

**Here's the next chapter. I just wanted to say thanks to those who have reviewed. I love hearing what you think. Also if you do review I will send back to everyone. This chapter takes a different turn than the last few or at least i think it does. I will stop rambling on now so you can read. Enjoy!**

* * *

A week had come and gone since Ginny's attempt to make Harry see things her way and she still wasn't herself. She went about her day quietly and alone. In the last week Ginny had only spoken to Draco a handful of times, even though she was still staying at his place. He had learned quickly to leave her to her thoughts and to not disturb her unless he wanted to get his head bitten off.

When Ginny let her thoughts consume her she kept blaming herself for everything that had happened and she found herself thinking, _Maybe it's the things I say. Maybe I should think before I speak. But I thought I knew enough to know myself and do what's right for me._

Ginny woke up one day in August, figuratively and literally.

Ginny put an arm over her eyes to protect them from the morning sun coming in the window, while thinking, _I hope that I'm dreaming because I'm sick of this feeling._ With this thought Ginny realized she could wake up from this dream whenever she wanted and knew this was the day to put everything behind her and start again.

Ginny stepped out of the bedroom that day leaving the past behind and becoming a better version of herself.

Ginny walked up to Draco, who was staring out the window and wrapped her arms around his waist, saying, "I'm sorry."

Draco turned and looked into the bright brown eyes that had been wearing a glazed and far away look for weeks now and said, "For what?"

"For the last few weeks. I was like a zombie and you had to put up with me."

"It wasn't hard. I knew what you were going through, you felt like you had just lost everything you had tried so hard for. I went through the same thing when my Mum died, I felt like I'd lost everything."

"I woke up and realized it's easy to forget what's really important in this life, which is you and my family. I'd lose everything if I didn't try and gave up."

"Yeah."

"But it's hard to live with regrets and I regretted not spending the last weeks trying, I gave up."

"We'll make up for the lost time."

"Yes, we will," Ginny agreed smiling and then added seriously, "I promise I will try to be a better me." To this Draco responded by pulling Ginny in and kissed her until they were both breathless.

When Ginny backed away, Draco asked, "What do you want to do for your birthday?"

"What?" Ginny said totally confused and trying to figure out the date.

"Gin, your birthday's tomorrow."

"What, it's already the tenth."

"Yes, which means your birthday is tomorrow. So, what do you want to do for your birthday?" Draco repeated, watching Ginny's cheeks grow pink with embarrassment.

In what seemed to be a response to Draco's question a tiny owl flew into the window, startling both Draco and Ginny.

Draco released his hold on Ginny and went to open the window. When he went to grab the owl it flew off to Ginny who said, "Pig!" in recognition of her brother's owl. She then untied the letter and opened it. She read:

Ginny,

We'll have your birthday dinner here

tomorrow. Be here around six. We

can't wait to see you. Love you and

miss you.

Mum

Ginny handed the letter to Draco and said, "I guess that's your answer."

He read the letter and said, "Okay, I guess we're going to your parents for you birthday."

"We don't have to."

"I want to, and we need to."

"Yeah, we do," Ginny said while she scribbled a response on the back and sent the letter off with the little owl. Then turned to Draco and asked, "Are you sure you're okay with this?"

"Yes, we'll go celebrate your birthday with your family and if you want to we can do something the next night."

"I think I'll need more than a day to recover from a dinner with you and my family," Ginny said laughing.

"Well, I'll help with that," Draco said pulling Ginny in and kissing her.

Ginny woke up on her twenty-second birthday to the smell of bacon and eggs and breakfast in bed. She looked into the usually expressionless gray eyes and saw happiness, causing her to set the breakfast aside and pull Draco down on top of her on the bed. Bringing his lips to hers she kissed him passionately while her hands explored his hair, chest, and back. She then wrapped her leg around his waist, pulling him flush against her and allowing their bodies to move as one.

After Ginny was up and about she found Draco in the library and knew she needed to lay down the ground rules for tonight. She walked in and sat on the floor in front of him and said, "I need to tell you the rules for tonight."

"Rules?" Draco whined.

"Yes, rules. Please be nice, you know how much this means to me."

"I know, is that it, be nice."

"No, don't go out of your way to make fun of or insult Ron and Harry."

"Gin, I know how to behave. I'll restrain myself, don't worry about it."

"Okay. We'll leave at 5:45, so be ready."

"I will."

"Good," Ginny said standing up and wondering what was in store tonight.

Ginny wore a dress with a white top section and black skirt and a black and gold belt, along with black heels. Her fiery hair was half up and on her wrist was a gold charm bracelet her parents had given her for her sixteenth birthday. When she walked out of the bathroom she saw Draco dressed in a black on black silk button-down shirt with black trousers, contrasting perfectly with his pale skin and hair. When he saw her he said, "You look amazing Gin."

"Thanks, so do you."

"Thanks."

"Have I ever told you, you look sexy in black," Ginny said letting her eyes roam Draco's black clad body.

"A few times," Draco said walking over to his dresser and grabbing a box which he then handed to Ginny saying, "Happy Birthday Gin."

Ginny took the black box and opened it to reveal a gold necklace with diamonds in the form of a heart. The necklace was beautiful and nothing like anything Ginny had seen before, she was sure it was worth more than she'd ever expect. She knew she should thank Draco, but she was speechless.

"Do you like it?" Draco asked unsure.

Ginny expressed how she felt without words; she would let her lips do the speaking. When she backed away and looked into warm gray eyes she was breathless and happy.

"I'll take that as a yes," Draco said after a minute.

"Yes, I love it and I don't know what to say."

"You said it well," Draco said smiling and then added, "Do you want me to put the necklace on you?"

"Yes," Ginny said handing him the necklace and pulling her hair out of the way. Nimble fingers hooked the latch and Ginny was soon wearing his heart around her neck.

When Ginny finished admiring her birthday present she said, "Draco, we should probably get going."

"Fine, let's do this," he said and followed Ginny out the door.

**What did you think about how Ginny got back to normal? What will happen on her birthday? Who will be there? Let me know what you think!**


	13. Chapter 13: Birthday Breakthrough

**So you know what they say about unlucky number 13...read on to find out if thats true or if Taylor Swifts strategy of lucky 13 is true instead.**

**Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Ginny opened her eyes and saw the tall rickety building that was still standing as if it were 'magic' that she used to call home. She smelt the familiar smells, heard the familiar sounds, and took in the familiar surroundings and started to feel nostalgic.

Looking at Draco, Ginny knocked on the door and awaited the rest of the night. The door was answered by none other than Molly Weasley who pulled Ginny into a hug saying, "Happy Birthday Gin!"

"Thanks Mum!" Ginny said following her mother in the house with Draco behind her. Ginny looked around her childhood home, glad that nothing had changed. It was cluttered and crowded, always crowded, but that Ginny loved about it and one of the many things that separated it from Malfoy Manor. Looking around Ginny saw all of her family and friends scattered about the house. Her mother was in her usual place in the kitchen along with Charlie, Harry, Hermione, and Fleur; Ron was on his way downstairs to join them. In the family room there was her father, Bill, George, and to her surprise Alicia Spinnet and Luna Lovegood.

Ginny grabbed Draco's hand and led him into the family room to see her family and friends. She walked over and hugged her dad and greeted everyone else. Many "Happy Birthday's" followed her and Draco was acknowledged with a few "_Malfoy_'s".

Ginny took a seat on the couch next to Luna and Draco and joined in on the conversation. They talked about the Ministry and Quidditch, the whole time everyone seemed to ignore Draco's presence. They were covering the latest Quidditch upset between the Hollyhead Harpies and the Chudley Cannons when Molly came in and announced, "Dinners served."

The discussion was immediately dropped and everyone filed into the kitchen, Ginny sat between Fleur and Draco. The table was filled with platters of food, pork roast, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, biscuits, and everything else imaginable. Everyone filled their plates and dug in while carrying on conversations across the table. Everyone was chatting, even Draco and Luna, when Ginny looked at Ron's face she noticed the mark above his left eye and was brought back to her fifth year when he had fought for his sister's reputation.

_Ginny was standing in the corridor watching Dean's figure disappear into the crowd. She had just received her much needed snog and was on the way to her potions class when from the corridor to her right she heard the familiar cold drawl of Draco Malfoy snicker and say, "There goes the Gryffindor slut."_

_Ginny grabbed her wand and whirled around ready to perform the Bat Bogey hex when she felt a hand on her shoulder and heard Ron snarl, "Shove off Malfoy!"_

"_No, I don't think I will Weasel," came Draco's cocky voice._

_Before Ginny could react Ron had flung himself at Malfoy. His right hook landing with a satisfying _SMACK!_ on Draco's cheek. Draco swung and contacted with Ron's left eye. Before all hell could break loose Snape's bat-like figure was breaking them apart and sending them to detention and the surrounding students to class. _

_When Ginny surveyed the damage she saw Draco's pale cheek was bruising purple and blue. Turning to her brother she saw a small cut above Ron's left black eye, that mark would from then on be a constant reminder to Ginny of her brother's loyalty._

Ginny was brought back from her memories when her father said to Draco, "I heard Lucius was out of Azkaban."

"Yes, he was, but he's back now."

"Why was he out?"

George cut in before Draco could answer, "He probably fed them some cock and bull story about how he is a saint or something along those lines."

"Couldn't have said it better myself," Draco agreed, shocking everybody at the table. After this everybody seemed to lighten up to Draco's presence, but Ginny knew it wouldn't last. She had a feeling in the pit of her stomach that was making her believe something bad was coming.

When Mrs. Weasley brought out the chocolate cake everyone sang a chorus of "Happy Birthday" and told Ginny to make a wish. _I wish my family could just accept how I feel._ Then she blew out the candles and they ate the delicious cake.

Next came presents, Ginny got everything from clothes to jewelry to books. She loved all of her presents, but the only birthday present she truly wanted was acceptance of Draco.

After tea everyone headed to the backyard where there would be a three on three Quidditch match. The teams would be Bill, Charlie, and Harry against Ron, George, and Draco. Ginny figured they only invited Draco to play because they wanted to beat him, but she knew he was more talented on a broom than they would ever expect.

The others settled down to talk and watch the event. Ginny was admiring the view of Draco on a broom when her Mum came up and said, "Gin, do you mind if we talk?"

"No," Ginny replied, peeling her eyes off Draco and turning to her Mum because she knew this would happen sometime and sooner was better than later.

"Babe, we're concerned about you."

"Why?"

"We think you're moving too fast with this relationship and you should take it slower."

"Mum, just because you don't like Draco doesn't mean I'm moving too fast."

"It wouldn't make a difference who it was."

"Mum, you know it would. If it was Harry, it definitely would. I'm twenty-two can't you let me make my own choices."

"Gin, what do you see in him?"

"Whether you believe me or not he's caring, loving, and I love him and he loves me."

"That's not the Draco Malfoy I know."

"Mum, he's changed. He's not his father."

"I know he's not his father, but are you sure he's changed?"

"Yes, I love him."

"Are you sure you love him?"

"Unless you have another explanation for these feelings."

"What feelings?"

"Every time he's near my heart races, he blows me away, he's always on my mind, his touch gives me butterflies, and he's got a way of making me feel like everything I do is fine, the stars are all aligned."

"Ginny, we all think you need to slow this down and see where this is going before you give him _everything_."

Ginny watched Draco fly above her and then slowly said, "Not that it's any of your business, but I've already given him _everything_."

"What! Did he force you?" Molly said worriedly.

"No, it was my choice," Ginny said not really wanting to go into detail about her sex life with her Mum.

"Ginny…" Molly said warily.

"I don't regret it Mum. So let's move on."

"You need to slow this relationship down."

"Don't make me have to choose between what I want and what you think I need."

They sat there in silence for a few moments and watched the scene above, both thinking. Above George was advancing on the goal and Bill was trying to hold him off. Ron and Charlie were tending to the goals and waiting to fend off their brothers. Harry and Draco were circling looking for the Golden Snitch, well they were supposed to be, but Ginny felt both their gazes set on her. Ginny stood up and headed into the kitchen to avoid the many pairs of eyes on her. Luna followed her inside and said, "Ginny, what's wrong?"

"I just wanted to get away from everything out there; they're all worried about me and Draco."

"Oh…" Luna said in her breathy voice.

"What do you think?"

"About you and Draco?" Ginny nodded, "I don't see a problem. He's not the same as he was at school, he's changed."

"I wish they could see that," Ginny said relieved to have someone on her side, even if it was 'Loony' Luna Lovegood.

"They will, just give them time," Luna said in a matter of fact voice.

"You think?"

"Yes, I do. Now let's go back outside," Luna confirmed taking Ginny's hand in hers and leading the way out to the events above.

Ginny's spirits were lifted when she looked above this time. She still felt the gazes of many eyes, but ignored all except that of the gray ones. She located them and smiled, earning a smile from their owner.

Standing outside watching her family and friends playing Quidditch and talk, made Ginny hope beyond all hope that Luna was right and one day with time they would accept Draco. She was lost in thought when she heard the cheers of George and Ron from above. Looking up she saw tiny wings fluttering to be free in Draco's hand and realized that he had caught the Snitch. The victorious and disappointed were landing around them with complaints and celebration. Ginny hurried over to the celebrating team to congratulate them.

As George was saying, "Amazing dive Malfoy!" Ginny wrapped her hands in Draco's hair and pulled his lips down to hers. Ginny was lost in Draco's lips and mouth when he pulled away, bringing her back to reality and her staring family. Ginny was blushing when George said, "What are we going to do with you little sister?"

Where Fred usually would have answered with something like, "Feed her to a dragon" or some other witty remark, there was silence. Everyone slowly turned back to what they were doing, no doubt thinking of Fred's possible response.

Shortly after the little scene everyone headed inside. As Ginny went to follow George and Draco her mother grabbed her arm causing her to turn around and see her mother and father, along with Charlie, Bill, and Ronald. After a moment of silent staring Molly said, "Ginny, we're not happy with your relationship with Malfoy."

"Now it all feels like a fight, you were always on my side," Ginny responded looking between her family's faces.

"Ginny, we're not happy, but if you feel this is the right choice we will try our best to work with this."

"Mum, Dad," Ginny said looking her parents in the eyes, "I know this is the right choice. There is no doubt in my mind and I would feel better if you accepted that."

"We'll try."

"That's all I ask. You know, life used to be easy, all I had to do was be me, but now I try to please everyone and by doing that I make myself unhappy."

"Just follow your heart Ginny," her Mum said looking into identical brown eyes.

"I'm trying," Ginny said smiling and unconsciously bringing a hand to the heart around her neck.

Looking at her daughter's necklace Molly asked, "Birthday present?"

Also looking down at the heart Ginny replied, "Yes, from Draco."

"Bloody hell that must have cost a fortune. Are those real diamonds?" asked a flabbergasted Ron.

"I think so," Ginny answered rubbing her fingers over them.

"They are," Draco assured appearing at Ginny's side earning looks from everyone.

"Don't give Hermione any ideas Ginny."

"Don't worry, I won't," Ginny assured her brother and then turning to Draco asked, "Are you ready?"

"Only if you are."

Smiling Ginny turned to her family and said, "We're going to get going."

"Okay, we hope to see you soon."

After saying good-bye and many hugs Ginny gathered her things and headed out the door followed by Draco. Ginny left her family behind and decided that this birthday had definitely gone differently that expected. Ginny, happy to earn any kind of approval from her family, knew that Luna had been right. With some time and a lot of patience she would once again have her family on her side. Ginny found herself thinking and believing, _Yeah, it will take time, but I know everything will be alright because nothing in life has changed on the inside._

**_Lucky 13 or Unlucky 13? I want to know what you think!_**


	14. Chapter 14: Signing Over

**This twist kinda just popped into my mind and i figured i should just go with it. Hopefully you enjoy!**

* * *

A week after her twenty-second birthday and dinner at her parents, Ginny woke up and turning over realized she was alone. She lay there listening for the sound of the shower, but no sound came. Coming to the conclusion that she was alone, she rose and got changed then headed to find Draco.

She first went to the kitchen and picked up breakfast, but found no Draco. She searched the library, many sitting rooms, and the dinning room, the whole time finding nothing, not even a note saying he'd gone somewhere.

Finally, getting ready to give up her search she checked one last place, his study. Upon opening the door she saw Draco sitting at his desk with his elbows on it and his head in his hands. He didn't look up as Ginny walked over and picked up the letter in front of him. On the finest ivory parchment money could buy, written in golden script, Ginny read:

Master Draco Malfoy,

I'm writing on you father's behalf, to inform

you of the most recent change in Malfoy

Enterprises. Lucius has decided that the time

has come to sign over the company and fortune

to you. We all believe that we will be left in

good and capable hands. On the twenty-fourth

of August we will meet at Malfoy Enterprises

Head Quarters at eleven in the morning. Please

let us know if the stated arrangements are

suitable for you. We will keep you posted.

Martin Cahill

Head of Legal Department,

Malfoy Enterprises

Setting the letter back down, Ginny took a seat on the edge of his desk in front of him and asked, "Your dad's giving you the company?"

Draco leaned back and laced his fingers behind his head and looking at Ginny said, "And the fortune."

"Do you want it?"

"It's not a matter of what I _want_, but what I _have_ to do."

"Draco, you don't have to."

"I do, I can't turn down the company, even if it has gained the reputation of the 'Malfoy' name. It's about everything I've worked for and my family before me," Draco paused and then asked, "Do you understand?"

"I do, but what about everything _you've_ worked for?"

"I'm not sure yet, but I want to try and keep that too, if that's possible."

"I'm sure you'll find a way, you always do."

"Maybe, but that will have to wait. Malfoy Enterprises will become my biggest priority; it will become my life shortly. It's like a sword with a double edged blade; it's going to cut deep either way."

"Even a bigger priority than me?" Ginny asked playfully.

"I hope not."

"Me too."

"For the first few months I'll try and figure out how to juggle everything, but I'll worry about that then. I'm sure my father has some plan laid out that I'm expected to follow and guidelines to live by."

"Are you sure you want to put your life on hold to do what your father wants?"

"No, but I need to. I used to dream about this day and I'm going to make the best of it. I can't let Malfoy Enterprises fall into the wrong hands. In the long run it may be good to have the company and the fortune behind us."

"Someday," Ginny said, noticing his use of the word _us_.

"You could learn to like the fortune."

"Draco, you know I don't care about money."

"Yes, but it is one of the perks of inheriting the company."

"Yes and it is one of the perks of dating one of the wealthiest men in the wizarding world," Ginny added with a smile.

"Soon it will be _the_ wealthiest," Draco corrected laughing, glad that Ginny wasn't one of the many witches he knew that only cared about what they could get from him.

On the morning of August twenty-fourth, Ginny woke up to the sounds of Draco getting ready. She opened her eyes and saw Draco pulling on a shirt and tie. She lay there silently in thought as he moved about the room. She thought of what would happen to their relationship after Draco was in charge of Malfoy Enterprises. Ginny knew she'd have to keep her faith in Draco and believe what he had told her.

While Ginny was deep in thought, Draco turned around seeing that she was awake and said, "I'm going to leave in a few minutes and I'll be back sometime around two."

"Okay, I think I'm going to visit Hermione."

Leaning down and kissing Ginny on the forehead, Draco said, "Sounds good, I'll see you when I get back," Draco finished as he turned and walked out the door.

Ginny once again found herself knocking on the blue door of Hermione's. From inside she heard Hermione yell, "Come in!" Opening the door and walking in Ginny saw Hermione and Luna seated at the kitchen table apparently deep in conversation. They both looked up as Ginny joined them and Luna said, "Hello Ginny," in her airy tone.

"Hey guys, what's up?"

"We were just talking about something Luna had learned at the Quibbler office," Hermione said analyzing Ginny's expression.

"What did you hear Luna?"

"That Draco is soon to be in charge of Malfoy Enterprises and will soon become the wealthiest bachelor in the wizarding world," Luna answered.

Ginny was about to reply when Hermione interjected, "I'm sure it's not true, Ginny would have told us."

"It's true, that's what I was here to tell you. Draco's at the Head Quarters now getting the company and the fortune signed over to him," Ginny confirmed.

"Why, if Draco has changed, would he want to take back on his family's reputation?" Hermione questioned.

"Because he doesn't want the company to fall into the wrong hands. He has plans for the company and he couldn't very well give it up and lose all he has worked for," Ginny answered.

"Won't he have to give up his job at St. Mungo's?" Hermione pointed out.

"He doesn't want to, but he's not sure. Does it really matter though?" Ginny asked, annoyed at Hermione's ability to point out the obvious.

"No, I guess it doesn't, but if he's worked hard for it wouldn't he choose that route?" Hermione asked once again annoying Ginny.

"Wow, Ginny, you'll be dating the richest bachelor in the wizarding world," Luna spoke up, successfully changing the subject.

Turning her attention to Luna, Ginny stated, "I don't care about the money, it's just one of the many perks of being with Draco Malfoy."

"Ginny do you really think your relationship will last once he is in charge of the company?" Hermione asked, being a buzz kill as usual.

"Yes, Hermione, I do."

"I do to," Luna added.

"My only worry is that Draco is going to be so busy with everything that I won't see him," Ginny said.

"I don't think that will be a problem because he's going to want to do something other than work. I'm pretty sure he'll make time for you," Luna stated.

"I hope he does, but I'm also worried because he's going to need to be gone on trips a lot. I don't want to have to go that long without seeing him."

"I think you'll find a way around that. I don't think there is any reason to be worried Ginny, he clearly loves you and you love him," Luna announced as if it were obvious.

"Hermione?" Ginny turned to her wanting to hear her opinion.

"I think you'll find a way to make everything work out. It's not like you to give up until you have what you want. I believe you'll find a way to work around the dilemmas," Hermione answered.

"You're right, we'll make it work, somehow," Ginny said reassured by her friends.

They went on to talk about other subjects and eventually Luna left, leaving Ginny and Hermione alone. As soon as Luna was out of sight Hermione said, "She's very optimistic."

"Yes, but I think she's right. If we want this to work, we will find a way to have everything."

"I guess, but you're going to have to fight the company for time with Draco."

"I'm up for the fight. Besides, I don't give up that easily, it's going to take more than Malfoy Enterprises to keep me away from Draco."

**What do you think about this new twist? I would love to hear your opinion**


	15. Chapter 15: True Intentions

**Its short, but heres the next chapter. I wish it was longer but this is just how it ended. Enjoy and thanks for reading and reviewing on my last few chapters!**

* * *

"My father thinks that by putting me in charge of Malfoy Enterprises he will keep me away from you," Draco informed Ginny.

"Wait, what?"

"He put me in charge to keep me from you."

"I'm not going to let that happen."

"Neither will I, but it will take a lot of my time away."

"Damn it, what is your father's problem with me," Ginny asked, already knowing the answer.

"He believes your family to be blood-traitor's. Why, because he believes in nothing but pure bloodlines," Draco answered the unspoken question.

"Which we are part of," Ginny stated.

"I know that and you know that, but he hates anything that has to do with Muggles, for some pointless reason, I'm sure. I don't agree with him, but I can't tell him that because I'll lose him, too. Even if he can be a pain in my arse, he is still my father."

"What if he succeeds?"

"In what?"

"Keeping you away from me."

"He won't."

"If he has your time otherwise occupied, then he in a way will."

"I'll find a way Ginny, I'll find a way."

"Good, that's what I wanted to hear," Ginny said, slightly reassured by his words of certainty.

Standing up, Draco walked over to Ginny and pulled her into his embrace and whispered, "I love you Gin and nothing my father does will keep me permanently away from you."

"You promise?" Ginny asked, finding comfort in his words and the warmth of his body.

"I promise," Draco assured sealing it with a kiss and added, "Nothing will ever keep me a way from you."

Ginny quietly whispered, "Hold me, and tell me everything is going to be okay." Draco responded by tightening his embrace around her.

Ginny stood there in Draco's arms, silently hoping that what he said was true and thinking about everything she had just learned.

_Ginny was sitting in a chair in Draco's study awaiting his return when he emerged from the green flames of fireplace. His face was full of worry and pain, which quickly changed to his usual expressionless look, when he saw Ginny. He silently went over to his desk and relaxed in the chair. Breaking the silence Ginny asked, "How did everything go?"_

"_Fine, I learned my dad's real plan and the extent he is willing to go to in order to see it completed."_

"_Tell me everything," Ginny said, wanting to know what had caused the look she had earlier seen on Draco's now expressionless face._

"_Okay," Draco said, pausing to gather his thoughts, "I arrived and met Martin Cahill, I slightly remembered him from my childhood, he is a short, plump man in his mid-fifties with dark brown, almost black, hair now streaked with gray. We went into his office, where we discussed the legal procedure that was about to take place. He told me of what responsibilities I would soon take on and made sure I knew what was expected of me when I became in charge of Malfoy Enterprises. I was informed of all of the different people I would have to meet with and discuss the new 'management'. _

"_About an hour in my father was escorted in by two Aurors from Azkaban and we got down to the business that he was involved in. After he told me what plans he had in action and of the ones he planned to start, he asked me if I was ready for all of this. I of course answered 'Yes' and we moved on to the agreements. After much more discussion and open promises he finally signed everything over to me._

"_After all of the legal work was completed Martin departed and I had lunch with my father. Over lunch we talked about everything that I would need to do over the next few months."_

_As Draco paused Ginny asked, "What do you need to do?"_

"_I will have to go on many trips to follow up on plans and information. I don't have a problem with going on the trips; the problem is the length and distance. The trips and company will take up almost all of my time, just like my father planned. I will be left with little, if any, time for my personal life," Draco informed her, worriedly._

"_We'll find a way around that," Ginny reassured him._

"_Hopefully, but it's not likely. We won't have much time together and when we do we will be stuck at business dinners or parties of the sort."_

"_If we want to, we will find a way to be together," Ginny said, in a way reminding Draco of Luna._

"_If my father has a say we will have to work hard for that."_

"_What do you mean?" Ginny questioned._

"_My father thinks that by putting me in charge of Malfoy Enterprises he will keep me away from you," Draco informed Ginny._

Ginny's reverie was broken by Draco's whisper of, "We will find a way, Gin."

Ginny looked into the worried gray eyes and agreed, "Yes, we will."

**Will they be able to work around this? Will it ruin everything? What will happen next? What do you think?**


	16. Chapter 16: The Invitation

**Here's the next chapter. I think this is about the half way mark. The finished story is going to end up being either 31 or 32 chapters...I'm not completely sure yet. I'll see how the last three chapters I have to write go. Now I'll let you read on. Enjoy!**

* * *

A few days after Draco took over at Malfoy Enterprises, Ginny was sitting at the kitchen table perusing the Prophet and eating a muffin. Draco had left early that morning before she was up, like was becoming custom. She had barely seen Draco since the company had come into play and she knew it would only get worse once he began the business trips. She was sitting there thinking when an owl at the window distracted her. Taking the letter she knew it was an invitation that Draco had expected to come. The invitation read:

Master Malfoy,

You are cordially invited to join

Miss Parkinson at Parkinson Manor

for dinner on the First of September

at six o'clock. Please let her know if

you will be attending.

Attached to the back was a personalized letter, which read:

Draco,

I am glad to hear of the news about

Malfoy Enterprises. It would be

lovely to see you again, it has

been a while since you've attended.

I'm looking forward to catching up.

Pansy

Ginny knew that Pansy meant something other than talking when she said 'catching up' and started to wonder about her past with Draco. When Ginny next saw Draco she planned on finding out.

As Ginny went to go to the library she heard footsteps on the main stairs. Going to investigate Ginny saw Draco coming towards her causing her to smile and ask, "What are you doing here?"

In answer to her question Draco pulled her into an embrace, put a hand on her cheek and kissed her breathless. Before Ginny fully realized what was going on she had her back pinned to the banister and was sighing in pleasure. Catching on Ginny let her hand explore Draco's thigh, earning herself a moan from Draco. With that he started to back her up the stairs to his bedroom. Realizing her surroundings Ginny backed away and looked into Draco's eyes, which were filled with heat, passion, lust, and love. His look almost had Ginny lost once again, but then she remembered the questions she had for him.

Backing away from the advancing Draco, Ginny said, "We got an invitation to dinner, today."

"That can wait," Draco said pulling her in and kissing her again, forcefully and then gently.

Backing away again, Ginny said, "No, Draco, it can't."

"What's wrong? Who was the invitation from?" Draco asked, knowing something else was on her mind.

Ginny summoned the invitation and handed it to him, while he read she answered, "Pansy."

After reading the letter he looked her in the eye and said, "What do you want to know?"

"What she meant by 'catching up'?"

Draco looked Ginny in the eye and answered in one word, "Sex."

"That's what I thought."

"And that's what was bugging you, my history with Pansy?"

"No, your history with everyone else," Ginny said sitting down on the steps.

"What do you want to know?" Draco asked sitting next to her.

"How many, other than Pansy, are there?"

"Too many."

"Which ones do I need to worry about?"

"It depends on what you mean. If you mean me going after them, then none; if you mean them coming after me then definitely Pansy."

"You wouldn't go after _any_ of them?"

"No, I wouldn't I've already been there and I wouldn't have left if that's what I wanted," Draco reassured Ginny.

"Okay, but they'll come after you?"

"Yes."

"I figured."

"Any more questions?"

"Nope."

"Then it's my turn," Draco said smiling.

"For what?"

"To ask questions."

"Okay, what do you want to know?"

"Who do _I_ have to worry about?"

"Depends on what you mean."

"I'll put it this way, who else have you been with, Ginny?"

"Besides you?"

"Besides me."

"No one."

Draco bit his lip and slowly looking at Ginny asked, "I was your first?"

"Yes," Ginny answered searching his eyes for what he was feeling.

"I didn't know Gin. I'm sorry."

'Don't apologize. I wouldn't change it for the world," Ginny assured him and saw his eyes lighten slightly.

"Ginny…" Draco started to protest, but was stopped by Ginny sliding onto his lap and kissing him.

"Not even Potter?" Draco asked smiling slightly.

"No."

"So, that's why he hates me."

"Yes, that's one of the _many_ reasons."

"That's what I meant, he has seemed to like me even less since that meeting at The Burrow."

"Yeah, but I don't care about what Harry or anyone else thinks about you," Ginny said leaning in and kissing Draco again.

"Do you want to go to that dinner?" Draco asked.

"Don't you have to go?"

"I do, but you don't."

"There is no way in hell I am letting you go alone and 'catch up' with Pansy."

"I know. I was just giving you the option."

"Thanks, but I'm going."

"Good. I guess I have to take you shopping then."

"Why?"

"You need a dress to wear."

"And it gives you a reason to see me try them on."

"Exactly," Draco said smiling and looking Ginny over.

"When are we going?"

"How about now?"

"You have work."

"That's the one good thing about being in charge, I control my schedule."

"Okay, let me get ready," Ginny said getting up and heading to the bedroom. Leaving Draco sitting on the stairs wondering why women always had to 'get ready' to go shopping.

In London they visited every dress store and never came out empty handed. Ginny found dresses of all kinds and colors and lengths. She found dresses that were knee length, mid-thigh length, and floor length; ones that were strapless, spaghetti strap, off the shoulder, and over one shoulder; ones that were form fitting, loose, and flowing; ones that were party dresses and cocktail dresses and formal gowns; ones that were black, coppery, red, blue, gold, silver, gray, metallic, pearly, white, pink, and cream. Draco didn't care how many she got, he insisted on getting everyone she liked along with the ones he liked.

After dress shopping Ginny dragged Draco off to find shoes for the dresses. She found heels and flats; open toed and close toed, sparkly and shiny, black and white and silver. By the time she had tried on every shoe in the store she had found a pair for every dress.

Leaving the shoe store Ginny pointed out, "You haven't complained once, normally any guy would be bored out of their minds by now."

Draco smiled and leading her towards another store said, "I don't mind, as long as you're happy."

"I am. Where are we going?" Ginny asked as Draco led her in another store.

"To buy jewelry."

"What, I don't need any more," Ginny protested.

"You don't have a choice," Draco said leading her towards the sales counter and then added, "I'll handle this."

"Okay," Ginny said as Draco talked to the clerk. Sitting on the couch by the window Ginny watched as the most precious and expensive jewels passed under Draco's eyes and he handled the transactions. After a half an hour of this the arrangements were made and Draco came over to Ginny saying, "Are you ready?"

"Yes," she replied following Draco out onto the streets of London.

"Sorry that took so long."

"That's okay, but you know you didn't have to buy me all of that."

"It's really not a big deal and besides you need to look amazing if we're going to all of these dinners and parties.'

"Thanks," was all Ginny could think to say.

"It's really no problem."

"I could really get used to this fortune thing," Ginny said smiling at Draco.

"I told you, you would," Draco said pulling Ginny close to his side.

**I'd love to know what you think and thanks for reading!**


	17. Chapter 17: So Far So Great

**So I might have lied when I said there are only going to be 32 chapters at the most...I got to writing yesterday and I think I'm going to have more than that, so I'll say somewhere between 32 and 35 but there will definitely be no more than that. I'd love to know what everyone thinks of this story so far. Enjoy!**

* * *

On the day of the dinner at the Parkinson's, Ginny found herself sitting in the closet containing her dresses, worrying about the upcoming encounter with many Slytherins. She knew she shouldn't worry, but couldn't help but think of the years at Hogwarts and the rivalry between Slytherin and Gryffindor.

Ginny looked around at the huge closet that was bigger than her room at the Burrow. Hanging perfectly along one wall was the assortment of dresses and gowns she had bought. Another wall was devoted to shoes, another to jewelry, and to Ginny's surprise the other was full of lingerie, apparently Draco's addition.

Still in shock Ginny tried to decide what dress to wear, but it was harder than expected. This one was to formal, this one too long or short, this one to revealing, and this one the wrong color. After much thought Ginny had narrowed it down to two dresses: the black, strapless, mid-thigh length dress with a pink bow around the empire waist and the midnight blue, form fitting, knee length dress with a one shoulder strap and criss-cross bodice. Ginny had hit a dead end and couldn't decide on which she should wear.

Deciding it was time to make Draco choose she took both dresses and headed out to the bedroom, where she found Draco getting ready. Turning and seeing her standing there, dresses in hand, he said, "What's wrong?"

"Which dress?" she said laying them on the bed.

Draco looked at both of them, undoubtedly picturing Ginny in them. Deciding he said, "The blue one."

"Okay, will you tell me why?" Ginny asked curiously.

"I like both of them, but I think this one is better for your first encounter with everyone."

Seeing the look of jealousy in his eye Ginny guessed, "And it's longer and you want to be the only one who sees that much."

Blushing slightly, making him look even sexier in Ginny's mind, Draco answered, 'Yes."

"I can wear floor length," Ginny offered.

"No, the blue one is perfect."

"Okay," Ginny said picking up the dresses and heading back to the dressing room, but only after softly kissing Draco on a slightly pink cheek.

Back in her dressing room closet Ginny put on her make up and pulled her hair into a loose bun at the base of her neck. She put on a pair of pearl earrings and a pearl necklace. Once everything was perfect she pulled on her midnight blue dress and stood there admiring the body hugging fabric.

From the bedroom she heard Draco yell, "Gin, are you almost ready?"

Quickly grabbing her shoes she headed out to the bedroom with them in hand. Draco took the shoes from her and when she sat on the edge of the bed he bent down and slid on the elegant white heels.

Standing up Ginny asked, "How do I look?"

"Amazingly beautiful and definitely sexy," Draco reassured her with a kiss.

Approaching the white monument like mansion in front of them, Ginny figured to be Parkinson Manor, she took in the surroundings. The manor was visibly smaller than Malfoy Manor; upon first glance it appeared to have a friendly atmosphere.

Knocking on the door they were ushered in by a butler. Ginny followed Draco through the very white manor until they reached double doors. Draco stopped in front of the doors and turning to Ginny asked, "Are you ready?"

"As ready as I will ever be."

Draco pushed back the doors and followed Ginny into the room of chatting guests. As Draco appeared everyone looked at him and his guest as silence fell over the room. Many of the staring faces Ginny recognized from her time at Hogwarts and others she had never seen before.

The silence was broken and many heads turned back to their conversations when Pansy came over to them and greeted Draco with a hug and then said, "I didn't think you'd show."

"I said I would so here I am," Draco said sliding a possessive arm around Ginny's waist.

Pansy watched with obvious jealousy, clearly she had been expecting Draco to come alone. Pansy slowly looked Ginny up and down and then asked Draco, "Who is this?"

Ginny couldn't help but laugh at Pansy's stupidity, causing Pansy to look at her in disgust and asked snidely, "Is something funny?"

Before Ginny could retort, Draco said, "Pansy, this is Ginny, Ginny Weasley."

Pansy's pug face fell and then turned red in fury saying, "Weasley, this is not Weasley."

Laughing again Ginny said, "I beg to differ."

Pansy turned and stalked away muttering to herself, "She's too pretty to be Weasley."

Smiling Ginny looked up into Draco's face and said, "I knew she was thick, but is she always that bad?"

"Truthfully, yes," Draco answered as he led her over to a group of faces she recognized.

Taking two open chairs around the table Draco greeted everyone, who all seemed happy to see him. Crabbe then said, "Aren't you going to introduce us Draco?"

"I didn't think there would be a need," Draco said looking from face to face and then started the introductions, "Crabbe and Goyle," Draco gestured towards his two sidekicks. "Millicent Bulstrode and Marcus Flint," Draco gestured to the familiar couple across the table, "And Zabini," he gestured to the young man directly to Ginny's right.

"Blaise Zabini," Blaise corrected offering his hand to Ginny. She laid her hand in his and after pressing it to his lips he asked, "And you are?"

Smiling and looking from each curious face to another she replied, "Ginny, Ginny Weasley."

Looks of comprehension took over their faces with the realization. Slowly Crabbe looked at Draco and asked, "Really?"

"Really," Draco confirmed.

Ginny said almost to herself, "I didn't think I looked that different."

"You do," Blaise responded, "but that's not a bad thing."

"Thanks," Ginny said blushing slightly.

As dinner arrived they all filed into the dinning room, where Ginny once again sat between Draco and Blaise. Draco was soon pulled into conversation by Crabbe and Goyle, leaving Ginny to talk to Blaise, who soon asked, "So, Ginny what have you done with your life?"

"I became a Healer and now work at St. Mungo's. What about you?"

"I took over the family business."

"Which is?"

"The jewelers."

"Oh, so that's where everything came from," Ginny said fingering the string of pearls around her neck.

"Yes, Draco recently bought many pieces and I was wondering what for, but I guess I know now."

"Yes," Ginny said, feeling eyes on her she looked around spotting Pansy glaring at her. "What's her problem?" Ginny wondered aloud.

Following her gaze Blaise answered, "Pansy's pissed because you're here with Draco. It's been a while since he's attended one of these dinners and I'm pretty sure she was hoping he coming was alone."

"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint her," Ginny said sarcastically.

Blaise laughed and said, "This is one of the few times Draco has come since his Mum died."

"Did he come alone the other times?"

"No, but he always ended up drunk in Pansy's bed."

"Oh," Ginny said worriedly.

"This is the first time I've seen him genuinely happy since his Mum's death," Ginny's expression lightened at this and then Blaise added, "How is his father taking the news?"

"Not well."

"How long has this been going on?"

"About six months," Ginny answered and feeling Draco's eyes on her she turned and saw in his eyes a possessive look. She knew he was angry that his best mate was occupying his girl's time. Turning back to Blaise, Ginny furtively ran a hand up Draco's thigh trying to relay that he had nothing to worry about, but Draco's mind had already moved on as his hand slowly moved under the skirt of Ginny's dress. A slow blush threatened to creep up Ginny's cheeks and she tried to hold back the sigh that was close to the surface, before she did, she excused herself with the excuse of having to powder her nose.

Before heading back out she straightened her dress and looking in the mirror she realized that she really did look different than she had at Hogwarts. Exiting the lavatory Ginny saw Draco leaning against the opposite wall. He moved towards her and pulled her into his arms and her lips to his. Ginny was soon pinned between the cold wall and Draco's warm body. As her hands explored his body, his slid over the curves displayed by the midnight blue dress. As Draco came up for breath Ginny said, "Draco we can't."

"Why not?" he whispered huskily.

"Because everyone's in there knowing what we're doing out here."

"They're used to me being out here while they're in there."

"But I don't want to be _that_ girl."

"What girl?"

"The slut that can't wait until she gets home to jump your bones.'

Seeing the look in Ginny's eyes Draco backed off and said, "Fine, let's head back in."

After straightening her dress again, Ginny followed Draco back into the dinning room. To her surprise Ginny only felt the many eyes on her for a split second and then they moved back to their original places. Sitting back down Ginny was quickly pulled back into conversation.

Eventually, everyone started to depart, Ginny and Draco followed suit, but promised they would see everyone soon. Leaving the manor Ginny knew she had worried for no reason, the night had gone rather quickly and was quiet painless.

**Any thoughts?**


	18. Chapter 18: Two Worlds Collide

**Thanks for the reviews! Here's the next chapter. Only a few left to go.**

* * *

A little over a week had passed since dinner at Parkinson Manor and Draco had been at work for endless hours. Ginny had just returned from work to the empty manor. It was Friday, which meant Draco would probably bring her to dinner when he returned. While waiting for Draco to return Ginny decided to take a hot shower to relax from the long and hard day.

Leaving the warm and steamy bathroom, Ginny saw Draco coming through the bedroom door. He looked exhausted, as he undid his tie and pulled off his shirt, he said, "We're going to dinner with Martin Cahill and his wife tonight at eight. I would have owled, but he told me as I was walking out the door."

"Okay," Ginny said, disappointed as Draco kissed her and went to take his own shower. Ginny entered her closet to get ready, thinking about how little time she had had with Draco since his father signed over the company. She couldn't help but think that Lucius' plan was working. Ginny pushed her thoughts to the back of her mind and set about getting ready.

Ginny emerged half an hour later dressed elegantly and ready for the dinner. She wore a dress with a coppery bodice with capped sleeves and a knee length black pencil skirt with an empire waist with classy black heels. Her hair was pulled into a loose side ponytail, allowing her fiery spirals to lay perfectly over her shoulder and pure black onyx jewelry.

When they were both ready, Draco apologized, "Gin, I'm sorry about this, I tried to get out of it."

"It's not a big deal."

"I was hoping I'd have the night with you."

"Me too, but we still have tomorrow," Ginny pointed out.

"Yeah," Draco said uncertainly.

At the restaurant Draco and Ginny met Martin Cahill and his wife, Marlena. Martin fit Draco's earlier description perfectly and Marlena was slim and petite with blonde hair and bright blue eyes. They sat at the table making small talk until after they ordered and then Martin pulled Draco into conversation about the company and business trips.

Ginny talked to Marlena for a short while, never truly listening to the conversation. She was more interested in the conversation taking place next to her. Marlena carried on their conversation and Ginny nodded and answered at the appropriate times. Ginny learned that Martin and Marlena had three kids, Ryan, the oldest, was a seventh year Ravenclaw who played Quidditch. Ashley was a sixth year Gryffindor interested in the Ministry and Courtney was a fifth year Gryffindor who planned on becoming a Healer.

After awhile Ginny stopped listening to her conversation all together and focused solely on the one between Draco and Martin. They were talking about stocks and investments, not what Ginny was truly interested in hearing. Finally Martin brought up what Ginny was waiting for: the business trips. They discussed where Draco would be going and what he would be doing when he was there. Martin then said, "You will leave tomorrow for your meeting with Jonathon Hoffman."

"Tomorrow?" Draco asked, looking sideways at Ginny. He knew she would be listening and saw her face fall before she quickly plastered on her smile.

"Yes, tomorrow morning you will arrive."

"I actually have plans tomorrow, is it possible to move the meeting until Monday?" Draco asked, as much for Ginny as for himself.

"No, he is not available for another two months after tomorrow. There was a last minute cancellation allowing you to meet tomorrow. You will have to reschedule your other plans."

"Fine," Draco said, hoping Ginny would understand.

"You will return on Monday and then leave again on Wednesday."

The conversation continued, but Ginny blocked it out. The realization that Draco would be gone on business all week hit Ginny hard. She knew he would have to go on trips eventually, but now it had become reality. Ginny sat there thinking she was probably being selfish for wanting all of Draco's time, but she thought she at least deserved the weekend with him. Ginny sat there trying to fight back the tears that were threatening to spill over at a seconds notice.

The rest of the dinner became a blur, but eventually they were leaving and soon returned to Malfoy Manor.

As soon as they were safely inside Malfoy Manor, Ginny let her tears spill over. When she looked at Draco he pulled her into his arms and she let her head rest on his chest. He slowly said, "Gin, I'm sorry."

"I knew this day was coming, I just hoped I'd have more notice."

"Me too and if I didn't have to, I wouldn't go on such short notice."

"I guess I'll just have to deal with you having to go on these trips."

"We can talk every night using the Floo," Draco suggested.

"Yes and we will, but it isn't the same as in person."

"I agree, but we'll have to work with what we have. We can't let my father succeed."

"It seems like he already has."

"No, he's only put up obstacles, we will make this work Ginny," Draco reassured her.

"Yes, we will. I don't give up that easily."

"Neither do I," Draco said leading her up the stairs.

"Where are we going?" Ginny asked.

"To pack," Ginny followed Draco as he headed to the bedroom and with a flick of his wand he packed, saying, "There, now I'm ready to leave."

"What time are you leaving?"

"Eight."

"Wake me up before you leave. You can't leave without a proper goodbye," Ginny said wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Will do," Draco promised as he leaned in and kissed her.

Ginny woke up the next morning to Draco whispering her name and stroking her hair. Opening her eyes she saw gray ones staring back at her. She slowly sat up and got out of bed, pulling on Draco's shirt from the night before and followed him into his study.

He sat in a chair by the fireplace and Ginny slid onto his lap while he said, "I'm going to miss you Gin."

"I'm going to miss you too," Ginny agreed.

"Promise me you'll be by this fireplace at nine tonight.'

"I will be," Ginny promised and kissed Draco to show she would truly miss him.

Parting from Ginny's lips Draco looked at his watch and said, "Gin, I have to leave.'

"I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too and I'll be back Monday," Draco said with one last kiss before he stepped into the green flames.

Ginny slowly walked back to the bedroom and collapsed on the bed, thinking about Draco as she drifted back into sleep.

**How are the trips going to play in? Are they going to cause problems? What do you think?**


	19. Chapter 19: Solo

**This story keeps getting longer and longer. Once I start writng I end up writing more than I expected I would so as of right no I am not sure what the finally chapter count will be. When I finish the story I will let you know. By the way I am almost done and I hope you enjoy the ending. Thanks for reading! Enjoy!**

* * *

Two weeks had gone by since the dinner with the Cahill's and Ginny had only seen Draco in person four times. They had talked via Floo every night, but it wasn't the same as actually being with him. Ginny had spent many lonely nights in the manor; they had decided to sell the apartment after the business trips began because Ginny, at that point, was already practically living at the manor.

Ginny had gone about her days as quietly and quickly as possible. Everyday was the same, wake up, go to work, come home, eat, Floo Draco, go to bed, and start all over. She had gone on without much contact with the outside world, until one day an owl delivered another invitation. The invitation was from Blaise Zabini, for a day Draco was to be away. She wrote back:

Blaise,

Sorry, but we won't be able to

make it. Draco will be away on

business. Thanks anyway.

Ginny

That afternoon there was an unexpected knock on the door. Ginny got up from her place in the library and went to let the visitor in. Opening the door Ginny saw Blaise standing there and inviting him in, said, "Draco's gone if you wanted to talk to him."

"No, actually, I wanted to talk to you."

"About what?"

"How are you holding up? I've been talking to Draco and he's doing worse than he'd like to admit, but he did ask me to check up on you," Blaise said, concerned.

"Oh, I don't know. I'd like it to be easier, but it's not."

'Why don't you come to the dinner at my place," Blaise suggested.

'I don't really want to go without Draco and besides they're his friends."

"I'd prefer you to come than sit here alone."

"No one would want me there without Draco."

"I would and in reality no one, but Pansy, actually would care."

"I don't know," Ginny said, unsure.

"You could bring a friend," Blaise suggested.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, but to play it safe it probably shouldn't be a Gryffindor."

"I wasn't planning on a Gryffindor," Ginny said, already planning on asking Luna.

"Okay, good," Blaise said smiling, "Do you need anything?"

"No."

"Then I should probably go. I'll see you Saturday," Blaise said heading to the door.

"Yes," Ginny confirmed and watched Blaise leave.

She then left to ask Luna, like Ginny expected she agreed and planned on meeting at Malfoy Manor to get ready.

Luna arrived on the night of the dinner and Ginny immediately led her to her closet, where Luna marveled over the size and contents. They had fun playing dress up and eventually emerged ready for the dinner.

Luna wore a white knee length dress with spaghetti straps, a V neckline, and a flowy skirt with silver flats. She wore her blonde hair loose and wavy with black onyx jewelry. Ginny wore a deep pink knee length dress with a V cut neckline, black straps and a black belt around the empire waist with black heels. She let her red hair hang loose and wore diamond jewelry.

They then left for the dinner they were to attend.

Ginny and Luna were standing on the doorstep at Blaise Zabini's. The mansion in front of them was similar to Malfoy Manor, it was slightly smaller, but had the same ambiance.

They were led into the room where everyone was gathered and before Ginny could decide where to go Blaise was in front of them saying, "Ginny, nice to see you again and Lovegood, Luna right?"

"Yes," Luna answered.

"Ravenclaw, nice choice Ginny."

"Thanks," Ginny said as her and Luna followed Blaise to a table. At the table sat Crabbe, Goyle, Millicent, Marcus, and Blaise, this time there was no need for introductions because Luna was unforgettable.

'Where's Draco?" Crabbe addressed Ginny.

"He's in Liverpool on business," Ginny explained.

"Oh, he's been gone a lot lately, hasn't he?"

"Yes," and with that Ginny was pulled into conversation with Crabbe and Goyle. No one seemed to mind that Ginny was there without Draco. Ginny would have felt bad about not including Luna in her conversation, except for the fact that she was already deep in conversation with Blaise.

Ginny, Crabbe, and Goyle talked about Draco, school, and anything that popped into their minds. They seemed more than willing to forget the past and move on with their lives. Ginny was content with the conversation and decided it was definitely more interesting than the one she had been forced to have with Marlena Cahill.

The night passed somewhat quickly, but every time there was silence, Ginny's mind went to Draco. She missed him a lot and figured tonight might make that better, but it seemed to only make things worse.

Around eleven Ginny decided it was time to leave, she needed to talk to Draco and the sooner the better. Before leaving she went over to Luna and Blaise, who were still deep in conversation, and said, "I'm going to head home."

Luna looked up at Ginny and asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm just tired."

"Are you sure?" Luna asked, seeing through Ginny's fake excuse.

"Yes."

"Okay, well if you need anything let me know."

"I will," Ginny promised as she turned and left, feeling their eyes on her back as she departed.

Back at the Manor, Ginny headed immediately to Draco's study and took a handful of Floo powder and said the destination. The room was pitch black when Ginny's head appeared in the fireplace. "Draco," Ginny whispered and heard movement as the light flipped on. Then heard the bed creak as Draco got up and came to squat in front of her saying, "I wondered when you'd come."

"You knew I would?"

"I figured, you were at Zabini's dinner and I knew you'd want to talk."

"You were right.'

"So, what happened?" Draco asked as he sat cross legged on the floor in front of her head.

"Not much, I talked to Crabbe and Goyle most of the time."

"Didn't you go with Lovegood?"

"Yes, but she was talking to Blaise the whole time."

"Sounds like Blaise found a new girl," Draco said smiling.

"Things seemed to be going well when I left."

"I'll have to talk to him about that."

"Yeah, so I went there trying to get my mind off of you," Ginny admitted.

"But it only made things worse," Draco finished.

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"Just a guess," Draco answered, clearly hiding something.

"Draco," Ginny said, giving him a knowing look.

"Fine," Draco gave in, "I did the same thing when you left me for Hawaii."

"Oh," was all Ginny could say.

"I miss you Gin," Draco said slowly.

"I miss you too."

"I'll be back on Monday."

"I know, but you'll still have work. Either way I can't wait."

"Me either."

"I guess I should let you get some sleep."

"Yeah, I guess. I love you Gin."

"I love you too," Ginny repeated as she backed out of the fireplace, loosing the connection with Draco. She slowly got up and went to the empty bed, where she soon fell asleep.

**I wasn't so sure about this chapter. What do you think? Was it needed?**


	20. Chapter 20: The Surprise

**Only about fifteen chapters to go until this story is complete. Enjoy!**

* * *

September ended and October came and went along with half of November and things stayed the same. Draco was constantly on business or at work and Ginny was working or bored and alone. Things had gone on like this for too long and Ginny had reached a breaking point. She could no longer take living this way; she was tired of living in the huge manor without Draco. She had been trying to live this way for three months, but she couldn't take it anymore. She needed to act, before she did something desperate. Ginny decided it was time to go to her family for comfort and ideas.

Ginny found herself opening the door of The Burrow and entering the kitchen. Walking in she found her Mum in the kitchen, as usual, along with Hermione and Fleur. She went over and sat at the kitchen table with them. Looking around she saw smiles on all of their faces, the opposite of Ginny's expression. She asked, "What's going on?"

"Fleur just told us the great news," Hermione answered. Molly and Fleur were staring at each other happily, which was unusual, seeming to have a silent conversation.

"What news?" Ginny asked, pulling them back to reality.

"I am pregnant," Fleur answered and Molly added, "I'm going to be a grandmother."

"Congratulations!" Ginny said, for once forgetting about Draco, and focusing on the great news.

"Thanks!"

"Where's Bill?" Ginny asked curiously.

"At ze Ministry."

"Does he know?"

"Yes, I told him last night," Fleur answered, still smiling.

They sat there talking about names and renovating one of the spare bedrooms at Shell Cottage into a nursery. Everyone's mood seemed to be totally lifted with the news. They still had a little less than nine months to worry about all of the details, but they couldn't stop talking about them. There had been few times that Ginny had seen her Mum this happy, she couldn't stop smiling, but neither could Ginny.

Startling all four of them, Bill walked in the door and walked over smiling and kissed Fleur. Almost immediately Molly had pulled her eldest son into a hug and congratulated him. She was followed by Hermione and then Ginny. "Congratulations!" Ginny said to her eldest brother.

Bill had always been able to see what Ginny was thinking and this time like every other he knew something else was on Ginny's mind. He asked her quietly, "Are you okay Gin?"

"Not really," Ginny admitted.

"Is that why you're here?"

"Yes, but today's your day. You're going to be a father, I think I can hold off my missing Draco comfort until tomorrow."

Bill angled Ginny's eyes to his and said, "You need to tell him how you feel about all of this because if you don't nothing will ever change."

"I know, but I'm not sure how."

"Just flat out tell him."

"I never see him anymore."

"Go see him." Bill said simply.

"You mean go to Paris and talk to him?"

"If that's what you feel you need to do," Bill answered.

"I think that's what I need to do," Ginny said, wondering if any of this was possible.

"Like Mum always says, 'Follow your heart,'" Bill said smiling.

"Thanks for everything Bill and congratulations," Ginny said, truly grateful that she had talked to her brother about this problem. She knew what she had to do the question was when. Ginny was brought back to the conversation when Molly said, "Ginny you need to stay for dinner."

"Fine," Ginny agreed, knowing she should celebrate with her eldest brother and his wife.

Ginny stood around talking with her family and friends, as they filed in. Harry and Ron came in followed by Arthur and then came George and Alicia. Charlie was the only one absent, since he was still in Romania.

They eventually all settled down for dinner, where every conversation was different and everyone was involved in more that one. Ginny was sitting there talking to Hermione when Ron asked, "Where's Malfoy?"

"In Paris," Ginny answered.

"And you didn't go."

"No, he's on business."

'Hasn't he been gone a lot lately?" Hermione asked.

Saving Ginny from having to answer Bill asked, "How are things at St. Mungo's Ginny?"

Turning to her eldest brother, gratefully, she answered, "They're the same as usual, what about Gringott's?"

"Pretty much the same."

Once Ron and Hermione had moved on Ginny mouthed "Thanks" at Bill and he turned back to his original conversation, smiling.

After dinner everyone filed into the family room and sat, talking some more. Ginny sat there wondering how was the best way to make her escape. She was about to make up some excuse when Bill came up behind her and whispered, "Are you going tonight?"

"Yes."

"Go, I'll cover for you."

Turning and looking at her brother she said, "Thanks!"

"No problem," Bill replied.

Smiling Ginny slowly got up and left the room unnoticed.

Back at Malfoy Manor Ginny decided that it was time to put Draco's addition to her closet to use. Once she was ready she ran out of the bedroom and into Draco's study. Standing in front of the marble fireplace she took a handful of Floo Powder, shouted her destination and stepped into the green flames.

Ginny spun into the fireplace in the lobby of the Paris hotel where Draco was staying. Looking around the white lobby Ginny saw marble flooring that reflected like a mirror and many inviting cream-colored couches. There were many witched and wizards standing around conversing and sharing their travel experiences.

Stepping out of the fireplace Ginny headed to the main desk where a worker with a name tag reading 'Jason' asked, "Can I help you, miss?"

"Yes, could you please tell me what room Draco Malfoy is in?" Ginny asked.

"One minute miss," the young wizard named Jason said as he turned to check.

Ginny waited patiently for the answer and with each passing second her eagerness grew. Turning back, Jason replied, "Mr. Malfoy is in room 132. Is there anything else you need?"

"No," Ginny answered over her shoulder as she hit the up button for the lift. Ginny impatiently waited for what seemed like hours, but in reality was only about fifteen seconds, before she turned and took the stairs. She took the steps two at a time and soon found herself standing outside of room 132. As she reached out to knock on the door she hoped that Draco had returned to his hotel room for the night. Her knocks broke the silence in the hallway and Ginny stepped back from the door to await the answer.

She soon heard the lock slide back and the door opened slowly to reveal the one man Ginny couldn't wait to see.

Draco finally realized who was standing at his door and asked in shock, "Ginny, what are you do-," but before he had a chance to finish Ginny had captured his lips with hers.

He led her slowly back to the hotel room bed where they laid down. Then Draco went on to properly prove to his girlfriend how much he loved her for the first time in months.

**What will happen next? What do you think?**


	21. Chapter 21: Mystery Blonde

**Sorry this chapters really short, but it ended well here and it causes more suspense this way. The next few chapters are pretty short too. So I'm sorry about that.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Ginny woke up the following morning with images of the night before running through her mind. She was so happy she'd taken Bill's advice, if she hadn't she knew she'd be miserable lying in Draco's cold lonely bed in the Manor. Instead she was laying here in a hotel in Paris with the guy she loved laying next to her.

At this point she looked over expecting to see said guy lying there, but all she saw was a note. She grabbed it and read Draco's handwriting:

Gin,

I'm at breakfast. I would

have woken you, but you

seemed like you needed the

sleep. I love you so much and

you made my day by showing

up last night. See you soon.

Love,

Draco

Ginny sighed, knowing no matter how amazing last night was Draco still had a schedule to keep. She slowly got out of bed and headed to the bathroom. All she needed was a long hot shower to clear her mind.

Suddenly Ginny was overwhelmed with so many thought running through her mind. These thoughts were: _Why are we kidding ourselves. We'll never be able to make this work._ And _I love him more than anything, but there's no time for us anymore._ All of these thought ran through her mind, but then something Luna had once said came back to Ginny and it was, "If you want this to work out then it will."

"I do," Ginny said to herself and with that she got out of the shower, dried of, got dressed, and went to find Draco for breakfast.

She made her way to the entrance of the dining hall and stood in the doorway looking for Draco. Her eyes searched the room and landed on the platinum blonde hair in the back right corner. She smiled to herself and started to make her way back to the table where Draco was sitting alone. Or at least that's what she thought, but then a beautiful blonde woman set her plate down and took the seat across from Draco.

Ginny froze in her tracks, waiting for Draco to tell the woman that he was taken, but that didn't happen. They were talking to each other, but they were smiling and laughing. Draco said something that caused the blonde to giggle and place her hand on Draco's forearm.

_What was going on?_ Ginny thought. _Who was this slut? And why wasn't Draco turning her away? Instead they were obviously flirting with each other. What the hell was happening? _Ginny stood there as her heart began to shatter because obviously she had been wrong about something.

"Excuse me," a guy said from behind Ginny.

Turning around Ginny said, "Sorry," and moved out of the guy's way.

Finally out of her reverie, Ginny made her way to Draco's table. Once there she cleared her throat, gaining both Draco's and the blonde's attention. "Hey, Gin," Draco said as he tried to lean in for a kiss, but Ginny backed away earning herself a confused look.

"What's wrong?" Draco asked confused.

"What the hell do you think?" Ginny retorted, refusing to look at or acknowledge the blonde.

When Ginny's meaning finally sunk in Draco said, "Oh…Gin this isn't what it looks like. This is Krista," Draco introduced the blonde. "She's here on business too. She works for Zabini Jewelers'."

"Yeah right," Ginny said sarcastically. She looked 'Krista' up and down and then turned to Draco and spat, "Fuck you Malfoy!" Before she turned on her heels and made her way to the Floo. She heard Draco following her and saying, "Gin, wait. Don't do this to me again."

This made her turn and shot back, "I wouldn't have to do this again if you wouldn't have cheated on me," Ginny jumped to a conclusion and left.

**What's going to happen now? Do you think Ginny's right or wrong? Did everything just fall apart? What do you think?**


	22. Chapter 22: Friendly Advice

**Sorry it's short :( Enjoy!**

* * *

Ginny immediately went from the hotel to Hermione's because she didn't know where else to turn. So again she stood there almost in tears knocking on Hermione's door. She heard footsteps and then the door opened to reveal a frazzled looking Hermione.

"Ginny what are you doing here?" she asked in confusion.

"I needed someone to talk to so I turned to you. Are you busy?" Ginny asked.

"A little, but you need me more than Ron at the moment it seems."

"If there's something you need to do I won't stop you," Ginny replied.

"Don't worry about it," Hermione answered. "I have a few things to ask you too," she replied taking a seat on the blue plaid couch in her living room.

Ginny sat next to her and asked, "What do you need to ask me?"

"First off, where did you disappear to last night?"

"Oh…umm," Ginny stammered, remembering the reason she was here. "I went to visit Draco."

"Really? I didn't know you were going to visit."

"Neither did I until after I talked to Bill last night," Ginny explained.

"Oh, I see. So, that's where you disappeared to," Hermione stated almost to herself.

"Yes."

"How did it go?"

"Actually that's why I'm here," Ginny responded.

Hermione saw Ginny's face fall and asked, "What happened?"

"I showed up and surprised him and we had an amazing time last night, but this morning is when everything went wrong," Ginny started to explain.

"What went wrong?" Hermione asked concerned.

"Well, when I woke up Draco was gone and there was only a note saying her went to breakfast. I knew he had a schedule to keep so I wasn't all that concerned. I got a quick shower to clear my head and went down to the dining hall. I stood in the entrance looking for him. Once I found him I saw that a blonde woman was sitting with him and they were clearly flirting," Ginny paused.

"What did you do then?" Hermione supplied.

"I went over to the table, not sure what to do next. Before I could do anything Draco looked up and smiled. He told me who she was, but I didn't wasn't to here it and I didn't believe him."

"Then you left?" Hermione assumed.

"Of course."

"Without giving him a chance to explain?" Hermione questioned.

"He tried, but I didn't want to hear it."

"Ginny, last time you jumped to conclusions like this you were one hundred percent wrong," Hermione pointed out.

"I know what I saw and he was obviously cheating on me," Ginny bursts.

"Gin, you needed to stay and at least hear him out," Hermione scolded.

"I didn't come here for you to play my Mum."

"Fine," Hermione moved on and asked, "Who was she?"

"He said her name was Krista."

"And how does Draco know her?"

"Apparently she works for Zabini Jeweler's, but I don't buy it."

"Well, there's only one way to find out for sure if he's lying or not," Hermione informed.

"How's that?" Ginny asked.

"Go talk to Blaise Zabini," Hermione stated as if it were obvious.

"What am I supposed to do, knock on the door and ask if Draco's cheating on me?" Ginny exclaimed.

"No, you go ask if Krista actually works for him or not," Hermione explained.

"Oh, I guess I could do that," Ginny thought out loud, feeling stupid because it really was so obvious.

"That's going to be the only way you'll know for sure that you're overreacting,' Hermione explained.

"So, you think I'm overreacting?" Ginny asked, hurt.

"Yes, I do, but here's your chance to prove me wrong," Hermione stated.

"Okay," Ginny answered thinking that Hermione was never wrong and realizing she was probably overreacting again and Draco was telling the truth, but there was only one way to know for sure and that was to go talk to Blaise.

"I'm sorry Gin and I hope this will help you clear things up," Hermione added.

"Yeah, I'll figure it out, but first I need to talk to Blaise," Ginny replied while standing up.

After goodbyes, Ginny left to go clear everything up.

**What would Ginny do without Hermione? Who's right?**


	23. Chapter 23: Wrongly Accused

**Sorry its another short chapter but I believe it is the last one under 1,000 words. Enjoy!**

* * *

Ginny found herself standing in front of the Zabini Manor ready to face the truth. She walked up and knocked on the huge black door. About a minute later the black door was pulled back to reveal, not the person Ginny had come to see, but instead one of her best friends.

"Ginny!" Luna exclaimed in surprise.

"Luna? What are you doing here?" Ginny asked.

"Blaise and I are dating," she airily replied.

"She's my girlfriend," Blaise said as he came down the hallway towards Ginny and Luna.

"That's great," Ginny told them.

"Yes, it is," Blaise answered, "So, Ginny what can I help you with?"

"Oh, yeah," Ginny started remembering why she was actually there. "I had a question to ask you."

"Is it tough?" Blaise joked.

"Possibly," Ginny replied, unsure.

Seeing Ginny's reaction Blaise knew something was up and wanted to help in any way possible, He asked, "What's bothering you?"

Ginny replied in one word, "Draco."

Sighing and hoping he could clear what ever this was up for both Ginny's and his best mate's sake. "Why don't we go sit and talk?" Blaise suggested.

"Okay," Ginny replied and followed Blaise and Luna into a big sitting room off of the main corridor. After Ginny took a seat on the comfy green couch, Luna asked, "DSo you want me to leave?"

"No," Ginny replied, knowing she could use some of Luna's advice.

"So," Blaise began, "What was it you wanted to ask me and how does this relate to Draco?"

"Well, I surprised Draco last night in Paris and this morning I went to meet him for breakfast and found him sitting with a hot blonde girl and they looked like they were flirting," Ginny explained.

"What?" Blaise asked shocked and knowing this wasn't Draco.

"Yeah and I probably overreacted, or at least that's what Hermione thinks, but what was I supposed to do?" Ginny asked.

"Did he explain?" Luna questioned.

"He tried, but I didn't want to hear it," Ginny explained for the second time today.

"Ginny, what if it really wasn't like it seemed?" Luna asked.

"Then I totally screwed up and it isn't the first time and I'm sure it won't be the last," Ginny admitted.

"This doesn't sound like Draco," Blaise stated.

"Well, it might not be. Like I said, I could have jumped to conclusions again, but I just need to know if he was telling the truth or not," Ginny said.

"How can I help?" Blaise asked Ginny.

"Oh, umm…" Ginny replied finally getting around to the reason she was here, "Is there a Krista that works for Zabini Jeweler's?"

Blaise thought for a second and replied, "Yes, there is. Krista Kent is working in Paris right now, I do believe…" Blaise trailed off as he pieced everything together. "She's tall, blonde, with blue eyes. Is that who Draco was with?"

Blushing Ginny answered, "Yeah."

"You don't have to worry about Krista at all. She's not interested in Draco," Blaise informed.

"How do you know?" Ginny attempted to defend herself.

"Because Draco's not her type. She'd be more interested in you if you know what I mean," Blaise explained.

"Oh," Ginny felt so stupid right now. She had just realized that she had once again overreacted and she might lose Draco forever because of her paranoia and always assuming the worst.

"So, you have nothing to worry about Ginny," Luna pointed out.

"Except for the fact that I accused him of cheating on me and told him to …well my exact works were fuck off Malfoy," Ginny pointed out.

"Give Draco a chance and I think he'll surprise you. He doesn't want to lose you and he'll do anything to prevent that from happening," Blaise explained.

"I guess," Ginny replied skeptically.

"Trust me," Blaise assured her. "Why don't you stay for dinner?" Blaise invited.

Looking at the clock Ginny was shocked and wondered where the day had gone. She decided she might as well take them up on the offer, so she accepted.

Until dinner was ready Ginny and Luna took the time to catch up while Blaise took care of some 'business'. Ginny got a full tour of the manor and tried to wrap her mind around the fact that Luna and Blaise were dating. They were so cute together Ginny thought.

Blaise walked into the sitting room a few minutes before eight and said, "Dinner's ready as soon as everyone arrives."

"Who else is coming?" Ginny asked, but her question was answered when the fire turned green and out stepped the pale blonde man that Ginny had accused of cheating earlier that day. He was the last person she had expected to see.

**What will happen now? Will Draco go off? Will Ginny breakdown? What do you think?**


	24. Chapter 24: Everybody Makes Mistakes

**I am in the middle of writing the last chapter now. Those of you who were wondering there will be a total of 36 chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

Ginny stood there staring at the man who had just stepped out of the greed flames. She didn't know how to react. She knew that she should start begging and groveling for forgiveness, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Her Mum had always called her stubborn and obviously she had been right. So instead of apologizing she just stood there staring at Draco, speechless.

There was an awkward silence while Ginny and Draco stood there staring at each other while Blaise and Luna stood out of the way watching everything unfold. Finally the silence was broken when Draco uttered the first words since he'd arrived. "Ginny," he started and then added, "Or is it Weasley now?"

She glared at him when he used her surname, but knew she deserved it after what she's done and said earlier, so she replied, "Malfoy."

Draco was about to retort, but Blaise chose this time to intervene before things took a turn for the worse, "Dinner's ready."

Draco cooled off and turned to his best mate and said, "Thanks for inviting me."

"You're welcome. You're always welcome here. So let's eat," Blaise responded.

Everyone filed into the dining room to eat, putting off Draco and Ginny's conversation until later. They sat around the table eating the fabulous meal and catching up. "So, Draco what have you been up to? It's been a while," Blaise asked.

"There's been a lot of traveling and establishing my spot in the company. It's a lot to do, but it seems to finally be paying off," Draco informed.

"That's great to hear. So, are the trips going to slow down? It would be nice to see you every once in a while," Blaise laughed.

"I'm hoping. Now that the transfer of the company is basically over it will mostly be office work and occasional business trips here and there. Truthfully I'm not sure how my father was able to do it all those years," Draco explained.

This news peaked Ginny's interest and she asked, "So the business trips are almost over?"

"Yes. Soon I'll have time for my life and the people who mean everything to me," Draco informed her finding it hard to be mad at her. This made Ginny feel worse because she had definitely overreacted.

"So what about your job at St. Mungo's?" Luna wondered.

"I've actually been thinking about that a lot lately," Draco started. "I'd love to go back, but I just don't think that's going to be possible with everything else going on, but I'd still like to keep it a part of my life."

"How do you plan on doing that?" Ginny remarked thinking he'd barely had time for her. So how was he going to work his old job in too, but then she remembered that she'd screwed everything up.

"I am going to try to incorporate it into Malfoy Enterprises in some way and for sure I'm definitely going to use some of the company's fortune to help fund research," Draco explained his plans.

"That sounds great," Blaise exclaimed. "Kind of like philanthropy."

"Yeah, kind of," Draco said. "It will help boost the reputation of the company, but it's also something I care about and it would help many witches and wizards in the long run."

"I told you you're nothing like your father," Ginny said almost to herself.

Draco turned to her and said, "I know and I should have believed you from the beginning, but instead you've just found so many ways to prove it to me."

Ginny blushed and didn't know what to say. She was still feeling guilty about everything and she couldn't believe Draco was just pretending like nothing had even happened.

They went on to discuss many different topics, but Ginny couldn't stop thinking about earlier and what was going to happen once her and Draco were alone.

When the grandfather clock struck midnight they decided that it was time to get going. It had been a long day and it was far from over yet.

Ginny got up from the table and hugged both Luna and Blaise saying, "Thank you so much for everything. I really appreciate it and I hope to see you soon."

"No problem," they both replied.

Right before they left, Draco told Blaise, "I'll be by tomorrow. I need your help with something."

"Sure thing," Blaise replied right before Draco and Ginny disappeared into thin air.

Ginny found herself standing in Draco's study finally facing her mistakes from that morning, or at least that's what she thought.

They had been standing there staring at each other, neither of them knowing where to start or what to expect. Finally Ginny said, "Go ahead. Yell at me. Tell me how stupid I was for even thinking you'd do something like that."

"I'm not going to yell at you," Draco told Ginny.

"Why not?" Ginny asked becoming outraged.

"Because it won't do any good. It will only make things worse."

"No it won't. Just yell at me and get it all out. I need to know how you feel," Ginny begged.

"I am not going to yell at you," Draco repeated.

"It will make you feel better. Trust me," Ginny pleaded.

"No, it won't. Yelling will not help anything. It will not make me feel better," Draco explained.

"Yes it will," Ginny retorted, getting mad.

"Why do you want me to yell at you so bad?" Draco finally asked.

"Because it will make you feel better."

"Ginny it will not."

"Please just get it over with and yell at me Draco," Ginny demanded.

"No, you only want me to yell and carry on because it will make you feel better, but it won't help me at all. You feel guilty and want me to be mad, but I can't be. I don't blame you and I'm not going to go off on you," Draco tried to explain.

Listening to Draco's words Ginny realized just how right he was about her. That was exactly how she was feeling and why she wanted him to be mad. He then continues, "I'm guessing you're sorry, but you can't get yourself to apologize because that would be giving in and admitting you were wrong and you'd never do that. You're too goddamn independent and stubborn for that. Stop me if I'm wrong."

Ginny sighed and asked, "How the hell did you know that?"

"Because I'm the exact same way," Draco pointed out, being the bigger man and admitting this about himself.

Ginny nodded and said, "This is my entire fault. Why aren't you blaming me?"

Draco thought for a moment and then leaning back against his desk he answered, "No, it's my fault."

"How is this your fault?"

"If I was here more often then you wouldn't be so paranoid about that and you wouldn't even have a chance to think I'm cheating," Draco explained.

"It's not your fault."

"But it is. My father planned this, but I knew it and still let work get in the way of us. I should have been her more often and these thoughts wouldn't be running through your mind," Draco explained.

Ginny sighed again and said, "Yeah that may be true, but I never should have doubted you."

"I understand and I'm over it. Let's not fight about whose fault it is because that really doesn't matter. Let's just forget about it."

"It's not that easy," Ginny answered.

"But it really is. I forgive you and I want to pretend like it never happened," Draco informed her.

"How can you forgive me after I gravely messed up like this?" Ginny asked disbelievingly.

"Because we all make mistakes and I love you. That mistake is a part of you so I'll just have to learn to love it too. Since no matter what, I will always love all of you forever and always," Draco responded, taking Ginny's hand in his.

How could Ginny be angry anymore after that? It was the perfect thing to say and all she wanted to hear. This was over and they could start to put this behind them. She just needed Draco to tell her this was true and she would believe it. So Ginny skeptically asked, "So we're good?"

"We're great," Draco assured and leaned in and kissed Ginny on the lips.

Suddenly everything that had gone on that day was history, the past. It was behind them and they could move on. This was definitely not the way Ginny would have thought the day would have ended. It was a million times better that she could have ever imagined and even thought she'd screwed up again, everything was fine and Draco had forgiven her. Ginny thought: _If this isn't true love then I don't know what true love is. If this isn't it then I don't want to know what it is because this is absolutely perfect and I wouldn't change a thing._

**_What do you think? Is everything going to be fine now?_**


	25. Chapter 25: Moving On

**Only 11 chapters to go. Enjoy!**

* * *

Ginny woke up the morning after the 'incident' thinking it had all been a dream, or maybe a nightmare. She got her hopes up and looked next to her hoping to see Draco sleeping next to her, but his spot was empty. Just as she was about to believe it had all been her mind playing tricks on her she heard the noise of the shower. That's when the reality of everything came rushing back to her. The reality that she had screwed up and the reality that they had put all of it behind them.

Happier than she had been in awhile, Ginny got out of the warm bed and went into the steamy bathroom to brush her teeth. "Gin?" Draco asked from within the shower.

"Yeah?"

"I thought I heard you," Draco stated.

"Oh yeah, sorry I was just brushing my teeth," Ginny apologized.

"It's okay. I'll be out in a second," Draco informed.

"Okay. I'll be in the bedroom," Ginny told him as she walked back out into the chilly bedroom. Instinctively she got back under the covers to warm up.

She heard the water stop and a second later Draco was coming out of the steam filled bathroom with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. Ginny really enjoyed the sight.

He pulled on boxers and said, "Good morning beautiful," and gave her a kiss.

"Good morning," Ginny smiled.

"So, I think there's a lot we need to talk about isn't there?" Draco stated.

"Yeah, there is, but I have no idea where to being," Ginny explained.

"Well why don't we go down to the kitchen and I'll make breakfast and we can talk," Draco suggested.

"Sounds great," Ginny agreed.

Draco shuffled around the kitchen gathering everything he needed to start cooking. Ginny had tried to help, but he told her he was fine and he just wanted her to sit down and relax. So she plopped on the counter and watched as Draco started cooking. Once everything was started Draco asked, "So where do you want to start?"

"Umm…so were you serious last night when you said everything was okay between us?" Ginny asked.

"Yeah I was one hundred percent serious. It was just a mistake and we can just put it behind us and move on," Draco explained as he scrambled the eggs.

"Great because that's exactly what I want to do because I know I messed up and I really am sorry," Ginny apologized.

"Don't worry about it. Everything's great," Draco assured. "What's next?"

"First, totally off topic, but why do you cook without magic?" Ginny wondered.

"I like cooking, but I also think it tastes better when you make it from scratch without magic," Draco explained his theory.

"Okay, just wondering," Ginny went on liking this side of Draco. "Next, were you mad yesterday when you arrived at Blaise's because it seemed like you were."

Draco looked away from the meal and looking at Ginny replied, "Yes at first I was, but then I realized how torn up you were inside and I hated seeing you like that. At that moment I realized it wasn't worth fighting about and just wanted to put it behind us."

"Thank you," Ginny said.

"You're welcome, but for what?" Draco asked slightly confused.

"For everything," Ginny explained.

"Okay that's fine by me," Draco said and kissed Ginny.

Draco then turned back to cooking while saying, "But what you said right before you left really hurt me."

"The fuck you Malfoy thing?" Ginny asked wishing she'd never said that.

"Yes," Draco confirmed, looking hurt.

"I'm sorry about that. I don't know what I was thinking, but I was pissed and hurt so I wanted to hurt you too," Ginny tired to explain.

"I know why you said it Gin, but you haven't called me Malfoy in years, actually since Hogwart's years. It just surprised me and reminded me of what an arse I was back then. I thought maybe if you were using my last name again I wondered if you thought I had turned back into that guy," Draco explained.

"Absolutely not Draco. I have not thought you were and arse since Hogwarts and knowing you now I know why you were the way you were back then," Ginny assured him.

"You promise?" Draco asked.

"Promise," Ginny agreed not used to seeing this insecure side of Draco.

"Great, now that that's settled do you want to know anything else?" Draco asked, starting to move the food over to the table.

Taking a seat at the table Ginny asked, "So, last night at dinner when you said the business trips were almost over was that true?"

"Yes it was. I was planning on surprising you, but Paris was my last business meeting for a while. I've met with everyone I needed to and it's time for me to run the company from home," Draco explained.

"Wow, so all of this is starting to pay off," Ginny stated.

"Yes, it is," Draco agreed.

"Oh, weren't you not supposed to come home from Paris until tomorrow?" Ginny asked wondering why his trip was cut short and hoping it wasn't due to her.

"Mr. Francia had to cancel because his daughter was sick. Luckily he's going to be in town later this month so we rescheduled for then," Draco explained.

"Okay," Ginny replied and then continued, "One last question, you're done working at St. Mungo's?"

"I wish not, but I don't think it's possible to continue working. Like I said yesterday, I do plan on keeping it a huge part of my life though. Actually I planned on going in today while you were at work and proposing my ideas," Draco explained.

"Sounds great,' Ginny answered. She then looked at the clock and said, "Actually I should probably get ready."

"Okay. I'll leave when you do."

"Sounds good," Ginny said as she went to go get ready. She was so happy things had worked out, so happy that she didn't mind having to go into work today.

Ginny found herself sitting at her desk working on paper work. This was the first time in months that Ginny wasn't just going through the motions. Instead she was actually focused on her work. So focused that she didn't notice someone standing in her doorway until the figure asked, "Busy?"

Looking up Ginny saw Draco and replied, "A little, but I need a break. So how'd the meeting go?"

"Great," Draco replied as he took a seat in the chair across from Ginny at her desk.

"Well?" Ginny prodded.

"They loved the ideas and plan on getting teams together immediately to start the research. They've been waiting for something like this to happen so they could proceed with previous research that didn't currently have funding," Draco explained.

"Great," Ginny exclaimed.

"Yeah, it really is. So you still have an hour until you get off?" Draco asked.

"Yes and a ton of paper work to complete," Ginny stated.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I'll get it done. So what are you going to do?" Ginny asked.

"I need to go talk to Blaise, but that's about it."

"What about?" Ginny wondered.

"Business," Draco quickly replied.

"Oh okay," Ginny said skeptically, but she wasn't going to push so she let it go.

"By the way I have a surprise for you tonight," Draco added.

"Really?" Ginny excitedly exclaimed.

"Yes."

"What is it?" Ginny asked.

"If I told you then it wouldn't be a surprise," Draco explained.

"Fine," Ginny pouted.

"You'll know soon enough."

"I know, but I don't want to wait."

"I'll let you get back to your work for now," Draco changed the subject and stood from the chair.

"Okay. Oh, before I forget we're going to my parent's for dinner tomorrow if that's okay."

"Yeah, that's great. I wanted to talk to you dad anyway," Draco informed.

"About what?" Ginny asked.

"Muggles. It had to do with the research," Draco provided.

"Oh okay."

Draco kissed Ginny and said, "Bye. I'll see you later."

"I can't wait," Ginny replied as Draco left.

She sat back at her desk, but couldn't concentrate anymore. She wanted to know what was going on and what this surprise was. She couldn't wait to get home and find out.

**What do you think?**


	26. Chapter 26: Delicious Surprise

**It's almost over :( only 10 chapters to go. Enjoy!**

* * *

After her last hour of work was over, Ginny rushed out of her office and headed home. Since Draco had said something about a surprise Ginny had been unable to stop thinking about it. What possible surprise could there be? Ginny wasted no time at all getting home to finally have this question answered.

Once back at the Manor, Ginny went to search for Draco. She quickly found him standing in his study staring at a small black box in his hand.

Ginny wondered what it was, but she was more concerned about the surprise.

When he realized that Ginny was standing there watching him, Draco quickly stuffed the little box in his pocket causing Ginny to become even more curious. She asked, "What's in the box?"

"Nothing important," Draco replied.

"Oh okay," Ginny said thinking about the surprise. "So, what's the surprise?"

"Well I can't tell you yet otherwise it won't be a surprise anymore," Draco repeated his earlier words.

"Fine," Ginny pouted yet again.

"But I did get us reservations at Picaro's for dinner," Draco announced.

"Really?" Ginny asked, remembering Picaro's, the restaurant that all of this had started at. That was the first night Draco and Ginny had dinner together and the night of their first kiss. It was the place of their new beginning.

"Yes, really," Draco assured. "Be ready by six fifteen."

Looking at the clock that read four thirty, Ginny said, "Then I should probably go get a shower and figure out what to wear." With that Ginny disappeared to go get ready, leaving Draco standing there wondering why she had to get ready that early.

After a nice long soothing shower Ginny quickly dried her hair and went into her huge closet to decide on what to wear. She stared at all of the beautiful dresses trying to pick one, but she was finding it to be very difficult.

Suddenly her eyes landed on a dress she had apparently overlooked before. It was the perfect dress for tonight. It was a turquoise strapless party dress with a golden metallic patterned finish, with a cute oversized bow detail on the bodice. She took this beautiful dress off the hanger and slit it on. Staring at her reflection in the mirror she was surprised at how perfect this dress was. The color was perfect and the material fit her well. It looked amazing on her with the gold patterning complementing the hints of gold in her hazel eyes and the golden red color of her hair. The hem fell just above her knees and flowing skirt complemented her body.

After a few more seconds of staring at her reflection she went on to put on a diamond bracelet and the diamond heart necklace Draco had given her for her birthday. She then moved to select her shoes and decided on gold peep toe heels that matched the patterning on the dress perfectly.

Then it was off to the bathroom to apply her makeup and style her hair. She decided to wear her hair down with flowing waves which matched the movements of the skirt portion of the turquoise dress she was wearing.

When she was finally done getting ready she headed out into the bedroom, where she found Draco who had long since gotten ready. He was in an elegant black suit with a black silk button down shirt and a Gryffindor red tie. Ginny was very surprised to see him wearing that color, but she had to admit he looked great in it, just like every other color.

"You look amazing," Draco exclaimed taking in Ginny's appearance.

"Thanks," Ginny replied slightly blushing. "You don't look so bad yourself."

"Thanks. So are you ready to go?" Draco asked.

"Yes, I am," Ginny answered.

"Ready for the surprise?" Draco questioned.

"Definitely," Ginny laughed as they left for the restaurant.

Once they were seated and had ordered Draco asked, "So how was work today?"

"Pretty good. I got a lot done until a certain someone came and distracted me," Ginny laughed.

"And who might that be?" Draco questioned, already knowing the answer.

"You."

"Ah, yes I remember now," Draco laughed.

"But you distracted me after that," Ginny blamed.

"And why was that?"

"Because you said something about a surprise and now it's been on my mind ever since," Ginny went on.

"Sorry," Draco smiled, not really sorry.

"But you're really not," Ginny called his bluff.

'Yeah, you're right," Draco laughed.

"So what's the surprise?" Ginny pushed.

"So, then I went to see Blaise after I left St. Mungo's," Draco changed the subject and pushed the surprise off a little longer.

"How'd that go?" Ginny asked wishing he'd just get the surprise over with.

"It went great."

"What was it about?" Ginny asked curiously.

"Business."

"That box?" Ginny questioned.

"It's not important," Draco insisted.

"But I want to know," Ginny whined.

"You will soon enough," Draco assured.

This brought Ginny's mind back to the why they were there, "Is it the surprise?"

"You're impatient today," Draco pointed out.

"Well yeah. You can't tell me you have a surprise for me and then not expect me to want to know what it is," Ginny explained.

"I know. I promise I'll tell you, but I have one more question first. Is that okay?" Draco asked.

"I guess so," Ginny pouted.

Draco took that as a yes and asked, "We're going to your parents house for dinner tomorrow?"

"Yes we are," Ginny answered and then remembered what Draco said earlier about wanting to go. She asked, "Why did you want to talk to my dad again?"

"I just had a few questions," Draco covered.

"About?" Ginny pushed.

"Work," Draco answered elusively.

"For what?" Ginny kept pushing.

"This new idea that we've been thinking about putting into action. It has to do with Muggles and wizard interaction. I thought you're dad might have a few suggestions," Draco cryptically explained.

"Oh," Ginny replied thinking Draco was hiding something. She wanted to know what it was, but she didn't want to be nosy and anyway if it was something bad her dad would soon put an end to it anyway.

Ginny was pulled out of her deep thoughts by the delicious aroma of their food arriving. It just looked and smelled so good; Ginny couldn't wait to dig in. They ate in silence neither one wanting to interrupt the other from eating the amazing food.

When they were both done Draco brought up the main topic of interest, "So, Ginny now for the surprise."

"Yay!" Ginny excitedly exclaimed, glad that it was finally time for this.

"So I've been thinking," Draco began, "Since I've been gone a lot lately and we haven't had much time alone I figured we needed to change that."

"How are we going to do that?" Ginny asked wondering where this was going.

"I was thinking we could get away from here for a little while. Maybe go on a trip, just the two of us," Draco continued.

"I'd love that!" Ginny exclaimed, "Where to?"

"I was thinking we could go to this remote wizarding island off the coast of Mexico. I went there on business and it was beautiful. There were gorgeous beaches and meadows with wild horses. It was amazing," Draco explained.

"I can't wait," Ginny smiled, already picturing herself laying out on the warm sand beaches with the suns hot rays warming her skin and there would be no one around but Draco. It would be amazing.

"I was hoping you'd say something like that."

Ginny smiled and asked, "When would we leave?"

"Day after tomorrow," Draco announced.

"But I have work," Ginny said coming down from her high.

"I took care of that today when I was at St. Mungo's," Draco told her.

"Really?" Ginny excitedly asked.

"Yes really. I talked to your boss and told him I was going to surprise you. He said it was fine if you took off for a few days. So, we can go as long as you want to."

"Of course I want to," Ginny answered.

"Great then it's a trip," Draco smiled.

"Yay!"

"So was it worth the wait?" Draco suddenly asked.

"Definitely," Ginny answered.

"Good," Draco replied.

Ginny sat there already playing the trip over in her mind. All she had to do was get through one more day and dinner with her family and she'd be lying on the beach with the man she loved beside her.

She definitely couldn't wait. She hadn't been this excited or happy in months. Things were finally starting to look up again and she couldn't help but think that she was sitting in the place where everything had begun.


	27. Chapter 27: We Are Family

**I just felt the need to throw some more Weasley drama in, but I think it ended up being the longest chapter of this story. I just felt like this was needed and I hope you agree. Enjoy!**

* * *

Ginny found herself getting ready to go to dinner at her parents. The rest of the day had flown by as Ginny got prepared for the trip they were departing on tomorrow. During the day she had collected everything that she would need and packed all of it. By this time in the day everything was done and ready for tomorrow. She just needed to get through dinner and then she'd be lying out on a warm beach.

When she left the bedroom and headed downstairs she was wearing a long sleeved green shirt with worn places scattered throughout with black jeans and black fur trimmed boots and a fuzzy warm white zip up jacket. She was ready to get this night over with.

When she reached the bottom of the steps she spotted Draco sitting in the room to her left. She went in and said, "I'm ready whenever you are."

"I'm ready," Draco said standing.

"Great, then let's get this over with," Ginny stated and with that they left.

Ginny knocked on the door of her childhood home and waited. She thought back to the time she'd been standing here dreading the encounter with her family, both on her birthday and the first time back after the fight with her Mum. Both of those times were times when she'd had Draco with her and was worried about how her family would react. It was different this time because she no longer cared what her family thought of their relationship and else they seemed to at least accept Draco a little more now.

Ginny was pulled out of her thoughts when the front door was pulled back to reveal her second eldest brother.

"Charlie!" Ginny cried as she threw herself into her brother's arms. It had been almost a year since she had seen Charlie last. He was always in Romania with the dragons.

Finally pulling away to look at her brother Ginny asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Spending time with my family. Is that a problem?" Charlie joked.

"Not at all. I've missed you as much," Ginny exclaimed.

"I've missed you too," Charlie agreed and then continued. "I see a lot has happened since I've seen you last," Charlie said hinting at Draco.

Ginny looked at Draco and smiled, "Yes, it has."

"That's great to hear," Charlie said. He'd always been the sensible one. Charlie then added, "It's nice to see you again Draco."

"It's nice to see you too Charlie. How have you been?" Draco asked.

"I've been great," Charlie replied. "How about yourself?"

"I've never been better."

"Really?" Ginny asked.

"Really what?" Charlie asked.

"Is it really nice to see him again or are you just being sarcastic?" Ginny wondered, behind on the conversation.

"It's really nice. I'm not being sarcastic. Ginny if you like him then I do to, I'm not like Mum," Charlie explained.

"Great," Ginny said, glad that Charlie respected her decisions.

"Yes, it is, but now do you want to come in? It's kind of cold out there," Charlie pointed out.

"Yes," Ginny answered shivering and then following Charlie into the house with Draco behind her.

As they walked into the house they heard so much noise. The noise of many voices trying to talk over one another, the noise of cooking and the noise of everyone moving around. Ginny followed Charlie into the kitchen where her Mum was cooking while Hermione, Ron, Harry, and Bill sat at the table talking. When they saw the newcomers everyone looked up and greeted them.

Bill said, "How's it going Gin?"

"Pretty good," Ginny smiled. "What about you? How's Fleur and the baby?"

"Things are…" Bill hesitated, "good."

"Really?" Ginny asked skeptically.

"Umm…yeah. Why don't we talk about this later," Bill suggested.

"Sounds good," Ginny agreed, knowing something was up.

"Have a seat," Charlie, who had already sat down at the table, suggested.

Ginny obliged, taking a seat next to Bill and across from Charlie at the wooden table. She then patted the spot next to her and said, "Sit," to Draco.

Right then Arthur Weasley walking not the room and greeted his daughter and patted Draco on the shoulder asking, "How are you doing Draco?"

"Actually I'm doing great. What about you?" Draco asked.

"I'm great too. Thanks for asking," Arthur smiled.

"You're welcome. Actually Mr. Weasley," Draco began, but Arthur stopped him saying, "You can call me Arthur."

"Okay, then Arthur do you think I could talk to you for a minute? I have a few questions about work," Draco asked.

"Sure," Arthur replied, not looking taken aback at all.

"Great."

"Why don't we head out back?" Arthur said leading the way.

"Sounds great," Draco followed him out into the back, leaving all of the questioning eyes behind.

Ginny watched the pair leave and realized that while the rest of her family was against her going out with Draco, her dad had never said a word. She knew he wasn't all that happy about it at first, but he never tried to persuade her to end it. Her dad just wanted her to be happy, even if that meant accepting Draco Malfoy.

Ginny was brought back out of these thoughts when Ron said, "What the bloody hell was that about?"

"Language Ronald," Molly warned from her stop by the stove.

"Mum, I'm twenty-two. I think I can say bloody hell without getting scolded," Ron whined, not helping his point in the least.

Molly shot him a look that made him stop arguing immediately. He looked terrified of what might happen.

When Molly walked out of the room Ginny, Bill, Charlie, and Harry broke out into laughter causing Ron's face to turn bright red and he warned, "Stop it now!"

"Little Ron still takes orders from Mummy," George, who'd been standing in the doorway taunted.

"Shut it George!" Ron warned.

"Why? What are you going to do? Tell Mummy on me?" George laughed.

"No, I'll just beat your arse," Ron stood towering over George.

"Cut it out boys!" Molly warned from the other room. They both shut up immediately and sat back down at the table.

Once everyone was cooled off Hermione asked, "So, Ginny what was that about?"

"What?" Ginny asked confused.

"Draco wanting to talk to you dad," Hermione reminded.

"Oh, that," Ginny remembered. "He had a few questions about work."

"About what?" Bill asked.

"Muggles," Ginny explained.

"Muggles? Malfoy wanted to talk about Muggles?" Harry said repulsed and unbelieving.

"Yes," Ginny confirmed.

"What did he want to know?" Hermione asked curiously.

"He just said he had a few questions for this new work related plan. I'm not exactly sure what he wanted to know," Ginny explained.

"Probably wanted to know how to torture them," Ron stated bluntly.

"Ronald!" Hermione scolded.

"Draco is nothing like that Ron," Ginny burst.

"If you say so," Ron replied skeptically.

"I do," Ginny stated, this shut Ron up.

"If he had questions about Muggles, why didn't he ask me?" Hermione wondered.

"I don't know," Ginny said, wondering why not. She hadn't thought about it until Hermione brought it up. It would have made perfect sense to ask Hermione about Muggles, considering her parents were Muggles and all.

"So, things are better between Draco and you?" Hermione asked changing the subject.

"Yeah. We worked everything out," Ginny smiled.

"Wait. What happened?" Bill asked, interested.

"Well, I went to visit Draco in Paris the other night and when I went down to breakfast the next morning I found him with another girl," Ginny explained.

"What?" Bill and Charlie burst at the same time about ready to go kill Draco.

"He was sitting with a woman so of course I jumped to conclusions and overreacted. Then I left and ended up at Hermione's. She gave me advice and I went to Blaise's where I found Luna and found out I was absolutely wrong and then Draco came for dinner. We moved on and here we are now," Ginny abbreviated the story.

"Who was the girl?" Bill asked.

"Krista Kent?" Ginny informed.

"Krista Kent?" George asked.

"Yeah, you know her?"

"Yeah. I've met her, but isn't she gay?" George asked.

"Yes," Ginny answered.

"So Draco was cheating on you will a gay girl?" Ron stupidly asked only listening to parts of the conversation.

"No," Ginny said.

"Oh," Ron said looking disappointed for some reason.

"So everything's better and I don't have to kick Draco's arse?" Charlie asked.

"Everything's perfect and actually we're going on a trip tomorrow," Ginny announced.

"Where are you going?" Hermione asked curiously.

"This remote wizarding island off the coast of Mexico," Ginny informed.

"Sounds fun," Bill said.

"Why are you going?" Ron asked.

"To spend time together since we haven't had much time with business dinners and trips," Ginny explained.

"How long are you going to be gone?" Hermione asked.

"I think five days, but I think it depends on how things go."

"I wish I could get away again," Hermione stated. "Like we did when we went to Hawaii."

"You went to Hawaii?" Charlie asked.

"Yes," Ginny answered.

"Huh, you sure miss a lot when you're not around," Charlie stated.

"Then why don't you come around more often," Molly Wealey suggested to her second eldest son from the doorway.

"Because I have work Mum. Trust me I want to be around more often," Charlie explained.

"Yeah of course, work's more important than family. I get it and I'm sure your father does too," Molly laid on the guilt trip.

"At least I come around when I get the chance unlike a certain long lost brother of mine," Charlie burst before realizing what he had just said.

Molly pretended to not hear what Charlie had just said, she did not want to think about Percy right now. So she went on to say, "Like I said, I guess work's more important than family to you."

"Give him a break Mum," Ginny cut in.

"Why? I should be telling you the same thing. Since you moved out and Draco became part of your life you wanted nothing to do with us," Molly started in on Ginny.

"That is not true. Mum, I have been busy and I'm sorry for not being able to be around all the time, but for once in my life I'm actually completely happy," Ginny shot back.

"So you weren't happy here?" Molly asked.

"Mum, that's not what I said or what I meant. I was happy here, but there was always something missing, but when I'm with Draco that hole is filled," Ginny tried to explain.

"I see how it is," Molly began, but at that moment Arthur came through the back door causing Molly's rant to stop for the time being.

"Molly, can I talk to you for a minute?" he asked.

"Of course," Molly replied, dropping the conversation with Ginny and following him out the back do.

"Where was Draco?" Ginny wondered out loud.

"I'm not sure, but that got Mum off our backs for a few minutes," Charlie pointed out.

"I'm so glad. I feel terrible now though," Ginny stated.

"I know, so do I. Thanks for trying to step in," Charlie said grateful for what his sister had done.

"No problem. I know you would have done the same for me," Ginny said.

"So, who do you think would have been next?" George asked.

"Probably me," Bill said, "Because I don't spend enough time with Fleur because I have to work or because I haven't been around much since I got married."

"Or me," Ron pointed out, "Because I can't take care of myself or I need to get married and give her more grandkids."

"I was thinking me," George said, "Because I can't take anything seriously and I don't have a 'real job'."

"You don't give your Mum enough credit," Hermione scolded.

"Sorry 'Mione, but sometimes she can be a little overbearing," Ron pointed out.

"At least you still have a Mum," Harry said sadly. This brought everyone down and Ginny was feeling sorry for him. He'd had a really tough life and she hadn't helped in the least. Just as Ginny was about to say something the back door opened and in came Molly and Arthur followed by Draco. Ginny was surprised to see her Mum beaming and bother her Dad and Draco with huge smiles on their faces.

Her Mum and Dad continued on into the other room where Fleur was resting on the couch, talking to each other, but Draco came over and took a seat next to Ginny. She then asked, "How did it go?"

"Great. He agree with the plans and gave me some ideas as how to go about it," Draco explained.

"Good," Ginny stated deciding not to push.

"So Draco, are you treating my sister right?" Charlie asked.

"Yes, I am. She's the most important thing in my life and I wish I wouldn't have taken that for granted earlier," Draco explained.

Ginny blushed and then went on to change the subject because she didn't want to talk about herself right then. "So, Charlie, what are you doing home?"

"I took some vacation time. Mum kept complaining because I was never home, so I finally gave in," Charlie explained.

"Sounds just like Mum," Ron stated.

"Yeah. I got sick of it so here I am," Charlie said.

Ginny laughed and was going to ask Bill what was going on when Molly came in and announce that they should help set the table because dinner was almost ready. Everyone got up and helped get ready and then sat down for the delicious looking chicken pot pies sitting on the table. They all dug in and the only noise heard was that of clinking silverware.

When the food had been devoured conversations started again. Hermione, Harry, and Ron were talking about work related drama. Charlie and George were talking about George's joke shop. Molly and Fleur were talking about the upcoming baby, while Draco and Arthur were talking about Muggles. This left Ginny and Bill to talk. Ginny whispered, "So how are things going?"

"Okay, there's been a lot of drama lately with the baby coming soon and getting a nursery ready. Fleur and Mum are starting to team up against me and I'm just not sure if I'm ready for all of this," Bill said in a low voice that only Ginny could here.

"Not sure about what? The baby?" Ginny asked concerned.

"Yeah about the baby," Bill said looking worried and scared, a look that Ginny rarely saw on Bill.

"You'll be fine Bill. You are going to be a great father. You were always great with me when I was little and you will be amazing with your child," Ginny assured.

"You sure?"

"Positive. I'm always here if you need help," Ginny told him.

"Thanks so much Ginny. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"You're welcome and I don't know what I'd do without you either. If you weren't here for me things would be so much more complicated," Ginny said, meaning every word.

"Bill," George called from down the table catching Bill's attention. This left Ginny to her thoughts.

Looking around she saw everyone she loved. All the people she didn't know what she'd do without them. They meant everything to her and that's why she was so happy everyone was at least trying to get along with Draco. She wondered again about what he had talked to her dad about, but figured she'd find out soon enough. For now all she was worried about was the upcoming trip that was sure to be amazing. She just didn't know how amazing it actually was going to be.

**So was the Weasley drama a waste or was it needed? I just felt the need to bring Charlie into the story, even though its almost over. What did you think about this decision?**


	28. Chapter 28: The Proposal

**Here you go the one chapter we've all been waiting for. Everything's finally falling into place. Enjoy!**

* * *

Ginny found herself standing on the balcony of their hotel room, thinking back. Three days had already flown by on their trip and it had been amazing. The beaches were gorgeous, the weather amazing, the people were so nice, and the restaurants delicious. Draco had definitely chosen the perfect spot for their little get away.

She was staring out at the sea blue water and the shimmering sand. It was so beautiful and Ginny never wanted to leave. Things had never been better than they were here and she didn't want to lose that. A warm breeze blew Ginny's ginger hair which surrounded her head like a halo. Draco stood in the doorway taking in the sight of Ginny and knowing this trip was right. He also know that what he was about to do was the right thing and he couldn't wait for it. He walked out onto the balcony and wrapped his arms around Ginny's waist asking, "How are you beautiful?"

"I'm amazing," Ginny smiled.

"I'm glad," Draco said. "So, what do you feel like doing now?"

"I'll do anything as long as I'm with you," Ginny sweetly said.

"I was thinking maybe we could take a walk on the beach and I could show you some of the places I saw when I was here," Draco suggested.

"Sounds great," Ginny smiled.

They soon found themselves walking on the warm sand beach, hearing nothing but the soothing sound of the crashing waves. They walked along the beach, san squishing between their toes and hands intertwined, without saying a word. They just took in their surrounding and the feeling of being together.

Neither spoke a word until they neared the end of the beach and could see a meadow growing closer. As they reached the trees Draco spoke, "I found this place when I was here and needed to get away. It helped, but the only problem was I wished you were standing next to me."

Ginny was touched by this, but didn't know just how amazing this place was until Draco led her into a clearing that was more beautiful than anything she had ever seen. The clearing was part grass and part sand and standing in the middle there were about ten wild horses. They looked so graceful and beautiful. Ginny couldn't even find words to say it, she was speechless.

She stood there taking everything in and finally found her words, "This is amazing. How'd you know about it?"

"When I was here on business and needed to get away the hotel manager told me about it," Draco explained.

"God, I've never seen anything like this…so beautiful. I am so glad you brought me here," Ginny exclaimed.

"There's no one else I'd rather see this with."

"No one?" Ginny asked.

"No one," Draco assured.

They stood there watching the horses and taking in everything surrounding them. Then Draco said, "Gin, I've been thinking."

"About what?" Ginny asked starting to get worried.

"Us," Draco stated.

"What about us?" Ginny asked scared now.

Draco took her hands in his and looking into her eyes he began, "Well, first I've had an amazing time with you this week and I wouldn't change a thing. I cannot believe how far we've come since Hogwarts. Back then I was an arse who was stuck up and selfish."

"You weren't that bad," Ginny cut in.

"But I was. Don't you remember all the terrible things I said and did to you back then?" Draco asked.

"Yes, I do, but that's ancient history now," Ginny replied, thinking about how Rom had always stood up for her. He really was a great brother, but then again all of her brother's were.

"Anyway," Draco continued, "We've come such a long way since then. First we became friends and then co-workers and then that turned into something I never expected, but wouldn't change for the world. We started going out which was a dream come true for me."

"It was?" Ginny asked.

"Yes it was. Gin, I fell for you a long time ago. When you were one of the only one who'd forgiven me for my past mistakes. You gave me a second chance and I am so grateful for that. We started working together and I finally got up the courage to ask you to dinner," Draco admitted. "That night went great and I finally got to kiss you which was something I'd been dreaming about forever. It was a million times better than I ever imagined. That was the first time I knew I loved you."

Ginny smiled remembering that night and reliving every second of it as Draco went on, "But then you ran out and I thought I'd ruined everything. I never would have expected to find you soaking wet and crying on my doorstep, but I did and from that night on I knew something had changed between us. Just when I thought things were perfect my dad showed up and things got complicated again, but we found a way around it," Draco paused.

A horse neighed in the distance and Draco continued, "But then Serena reappeared and you went to Hawaii to avoid me. I truly believed I had lost you then and I realized just how much I needed you in my life. I was lost without you. Somehow we managed to work things out, but of course another obstacle came up in the form of the company and I knew my father's trap, but fell into it anyway."

""Then I overreacted," Ginny supplied.

"That may be true, but I want about to let you leave me again. SO as soon as it happened I already had forgiven you," Draco explained.

"I know, but I still don't get why," Ginny stated.

"Because I love you Ginny. You are my everything, my whole world. Without you I have no purpose, but with you we are perfect. I don't know what I would do without you and I never want to find out. I have never been happier than when I am with you and I feel like I can be myself with you. You make me a better person and I will never let you go," Draco opened up to Ginny and looking into her eyes he got down on one knee and reaching into his pocket he pulled out the little black box.

Ginny gasped knowing what was coming and wishing all of this wasn't a dream.

"Ginny Weasley," Draco began, "Will you make me the happiest man on earth and do me the honor of being my wife and marrying me?" Draco proposed as he snapped open the box to reveal the gorgeous ring. It was three brilliant diamonds set on a white gold band. The diamonds were sparkling brilliantly from the sun shining down on them. It was the most beautiful thing Ginny had ever seen.

Ginny was once again speechless. She knew her answer before he even popped the question, but she couldn't get the word to come out. So she nodded looking into Draco's warm bluish gray eyes.

"Is that a yes?" Draco asked.

"Yes, I'd love nothing more than to marry you Draco Malfoy!" Ginny found her voice, with that Draco slid the ring onto Ginny's ring finger and swept her into his arms holding her close and kissing her.

Neither of them had ever been this happy. Everything was finally falling into place and their dreams were finally coming true. Things were better than ever for both of them.

**There it was. He finally popped the question. Does this mean happily ever after or not? What's your take?**


	29. Chapter 29: Getting Approval

**Here you go. I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Ginny sat on the ground next to Draco watching the horses and taking everything that had just happened in. She was trying to wrap her head around the fact that she was now engaged to the man of her dreams and she would always be this happy from now on. She was soon to be Mrs. Ginny Malfoy. She liked the sound of that.

"It's so beautiful," Ginny finally said staring at the ring on her finger. "You have great taste."

"Thanks, but I can't take all of the credit. I had some help," Draco explained.

"From who?" Ginny wondered.

"Blaise and Luna."

"Luna?" Ginny questioned.

"Yeah, she helped out."

"She knew you were going to propose?"

"Yes, she did," Draco answered.

"Why'd she help?"

"When I went to talk to Blaise about it she was there and I figured since she was your friend it would be a good idea to get her opinion," Draco explained.

"Wait…that day after Paris?" Ginny asked.

"Yes, that day."

"Wow," Ginny exclaimed. "I overreacted the day before and you decide you wanted to marry me instead of be mad at me?"

"I love you and I've know I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you since that first kiss. I wasn't going to let anything get in the way of that," Draco explained.

"Neither will I," Ginny said staring at the horses again.

They sat there in silence again just thinking about their future together.

Suddenly Ginny remembered she'd have to tell her family. She wasn't afraid, but she hoped they'd be happy for her. "I wonder how my parents are going to react," Ginny stated.

"They'll be happy," Draco said.

"I hope so."

"I know they will. Do you think I would have asked you to marry me without running it by your parents first?" Draco asked.

"No, I don't," Ginny answered knowing Draco wasn't that kind of guy.

"I already asked them if it would be okay."

"That's what you wanted to talk to my dad about," Ginny figured out.

"Exactly."

"How did it go?" Ginny wondered.

"Great," Draco began and then retold the events of that night.

_Draco followed Arthur Weasley through the door into the backyard. He was led back to what looked like a tool shed in the back right corner of the yard. Inside Draco expected to see a work bench cluttered with tools, but he was shocked when he walked through the wooden door._

_There was a worn couch sitting in the middle of the room with a table in front of it. Along the right wall there was a fireplace and in the corner to the left sat a desk. This shed was more of a study than an actual shed._

_Arthur took a seat in the lazy boy chair next to the couch where Draco had sat. Arthur then asked, "What did you want to talk about Draco?"_

"_I was hoping we could talk about Ginny," Draco answered._

"_Okay, what do you want to talk about Ginny for?"_

"_Well, I love your daughter, Arthur. She is the best thing that has ever happened to me," Draco began._

"_She is an amazing girl," Arthur smiled._

"_Yes, she definitely is. I can see why," Draco complimented._

"_Thanks. We did the best we could with what we have. I'm sure it was a lot different than the way you grew up," Arthur pointed out._

"_Indeed it was, but I would have preferred to grow up in a loving and caring family who was just getting by compared to a cold and distant family who showed no emotion with all the wealth the world could offer. My childhood was far from ideal," Draco explained._

"_I'm sorry to hear that Draco," Arthur sympathized._

"_It's okay. I've tried to turn my life around and make the best of it."_

"_I know you have. My daughter wouldn't be in love with you if you weren't an amazing, loving, and caring guy," Arthur explained._

"_Thank you. I just have one question for you," Draco started._

"_What is it?" Arthur asked._

"_I was hoping I could get your approval and blessing to ask your daughter to marry me," Draco explained._

"_You want to marry Ginny?" Arthur asked._

"_Yes, more than anything in this world," Draco assured._

"_It is obvious that Ginny loves you and you love her, so if you want to ask my daughter to marry you then that is perfectly fine with me. I want her to be happy and I know you make her happy," Arthur approved._

"_Thank you so much Arthur. I won't let you down," Draco gratefully said._

"_I know you won't Draco," Arthur smiled. "Now, you have my blessing. Would you like to get Molly's too?"_

"_Yes, I would," Draco answered._

"_Great. Why don't I go get her," Arthur suggested._

"_Sounds great. I'll wait here," Draco said. Arthur then left the shed to get Molly Weasley._

_Draco sat there and thought. He was so happy on the inside, but he was also nervous. He wanted Mrs. Weasley's approval too, but was pretty sure it would be harder to get. He'd make his point and hope for the best._

_At that point the door opened and in walked Molly and Arthur. After taking a seat Molly said, "Arthur said you had something to ask me."_

"_Yes, I do. First, I wanted to say that I love Ginny more than anything else," Draco began again._

"_Even though I don't want to admit it I know you do and I know she loves you too," Molly admitted._

"_Then maybe this will go better than I expected," Draco smiled._

"_The only way to find out is to tell me what you're talking about," Molly stated._

"_I was hoping to get your approval," Draco began._

"_Approval for what?" Molly asked._

"_To ask you daughter to marry me," Draco answered._

_Molly was speechless, she hadn't been expecting this and everyone would expect her to be totally against it, but she wasn't. She just wanted Ginny to be happy and she was when she was with Draco. She also wanted her daughter happily married and she also wanted grandkids, lots of them. She smiled at this idea and answered, "I'll give you my approval on one condition."_

"_What is the condition?" Draco asked, starting to get worried._

"_You have to promise me that you will give me grandkids," Molly smiled._

"_I promise," Draco said immediately already knowing this was easy to accomplish because he wanted kids too._

"_Great. Then you can marry my daughter," Molly said. _

"_Thank you," Draco told both of them._

"_You're welcome," Molly answered and then hugged Draco._

_This had gone better than Draco expected and he couldn't wait until he asked Ginny._

"I love you," Ginny whispered. He'd gone through the trouble of asking her parents and getting their blessing. She really appreciated it and realized he really was perfect.

"I love you too Gin," Draco replied.

Draco just got done telling Ginny about asking her parents and they were sitting in the meadow still.

"So, my parents know about this, but what about your dad?" Ginny just had to ask.

Draco sighed, not wanting to think about this. "I haven't spoken to my dad since he signed over the company."

"Do you plan on telling him?" Ginny asked.

"No, I do not. I know he'll try to scheme and ruin everything. I don't care what he thinks and he doesn't need to know," Draco said.

"Okay," was all Ginny could say. She wanted to respect Draco's decision, but she also felt that she needed Lucius' approval before she could marry Draco. Call her crazy, but she was determined to get it.

Looking around Ginny realized it was starting to get dark. She knew they should head back to the hotel, but she never wanted to leave this spot. This was the best day of her life. She looked at the ring on her finger one more time smiling, before saying, "I guess we should head back."

"Yeah we should," Draco said standing and reaching a hand out to help Ginny up.

As they walked up the beach and towards the hotel, Ginny thought about everything. Things couldn't get any better than this. This trip was perfect and so was this day. Today was the start of the rest of her life. The rest of her life with the man she loved, Draco Malfoy, but she knew what needed to be done first.


	30. Chapter 30: Mending Fences

**Only 6 chapters to go. I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

The next few days flew by and before Ginny knew it they were back home and moving on with their lives. The only difference was they were no engaged and that seemed to change so much, in a good way.

I was the morning after they returned and Ginny knew what had to be done and it was a lot. The first order of business was to talk to her family and tell them the great news. She would also have to talk to Harry and make sure things would still be okay between them. Lastly, she would need to find a way to talk to Lucius. She just knew she needed to talk to him whether he was okay with it or against it. He just needed to know. Her plan was to talk to Hermione, Ron, and Harry to see if they could help, but first she needed to go find Draco.

She figured she'd check his study first. Standing at the door she heard familiar voices and didn't want to disturb them, but then she recognized Harry's voice and wondered what was going on, so she knocked.

"Come in," came Draco's voice.

Pulling back the door Ginny saw Draco, Harry, Ron, and Blaise sitting around looking like they were all getting along. She was so surprised by this scene and just had to ask, "What the bloody hell is going on?"

They all laughed and Ron said, "You got this one Draco?"

"Yeah I do," Draco smiled and then explained, "We were just talking."

"Yeah I got that part, but why?" Ginny insisted.

"I figured I'd talk to Ron and Harry about the good news and try to clear things up between the three of us. Hopefully you don't mind that I told them, but I just wanted to try and help," Draco explained.

"Oh, okay and it is okay that you told them. That was so sweet of you," Ginny smiled.

"Draco Malfoy…sweet? I've never heard those words used in the same sentence before," Blaise joked.

"I get why everyone else is here, but what are you going here Blaise?" Ginny asked.

"I stopped by to see how things went this weekend and to see if the ring was the right choice," Blaise explained.

"It was the perfect choice and thanks so much for helping with it," Ginny said.

"My pleasure."

Ginny then turned to Ron and Harry and asked, "Are you two actually attempting to get along with Draco?"

"Yeah," Ron replied.

"Thank you Ron," Ginny smiled at her older brother.

"What about you Harry?" Ginny asked noticing he hadn't spoken since she came in the room.

"Yeah, we're trying to work things out for you," Harry explained.

"Thank you so much, all of you. This means so much to me," Ginny gushed.

"No problem Gin, we're all going to have to ban together when you and Mum come after us when preparing for the wedding," Ron joked.

"Luckily, I don't have that problem," Blaise laughed, peaking too soon.

"Yeah, you do," Draco said.

"How?" Blaise asked confused.

"Well, if you're going to be my best man then you're going to have to put up with it too," Draco stated.

"Really man?" Blaise asked shocked.

"Of course Blaise."

"Thanks Dray."

"No problem," Draco smiled.

"See you have to put up with it too," Ron pointed out.

"Yeah, I guess I do," Blaise sighed.

"That's why we need to stick together," Ron stated again.

"Very true," Blaise laughed.

"So should I let you guys finish talking?" Ginny asked hoping she wasn't interrupting.

"No, I think we're good," Draco said.

"Yeah, we were actually just getting ready to leave before you came in," Ron piped up.

"Oh okay…Harry can I talk to you for a minute before you go?" Ginny asked.

"Sure," Harry said.

Ginny led him out the door and to the room next door which happened to be the library.

"Harry, I wish I would have been the one to tell you about this," Ginny said feeling guilty.

"I'm actually glad Draco did because if I said something I didn't mean to him, he wouldn't care. He would just shrug it off. He also was trying to make it easier on both of us and I believe it worked," Harry explained.

"So you're okay with this?" Ginny asked skeptically.

"Not totally yet, but I'm getting there. I knew this day was coming and its going better that I would have expected. I love you, but I want you to be happy and even though I wish it wasn't true I'm not the one who makes you happy anymore. It's Malfoy…I mean Draco," Harry explained.

"I love you too Harry, but I'm _in_ _love_ with Draco and no matter how hard I try I can never change that," Ginny said.

"I know you can't and I'm not asking you to anymore. I see that Draco's great for you and I've realized that Draco actually has changed."

"You see that?" Ginny asked excitedly.

"Yes, the old Malfoy would never have tried to make a truce with Ron and me, but Draco had and that makes me believe that he really has changed. I believe it's all because of you," Harry explained.

"He really had changed Harry."

"I know and I know you'd never be with him if he hadn't. I was stupid to not see it before, but then again I still had my sights set on you. I now realize that's not going to happen and I need to move on," Harry said.

"I'm sorry Harry."

"For what?"

"All the hell I've put you through," Ginny explained.

"It wasn't your fault. It was mine because I couldn't see what was right in front of me," Harry said.

"Harry…" Ginny started.

"Don't worry about me Gin, I'll find someone. I just want you to be happy and you are with Draco."

"Thank you Harry."

"You're welcome," Harry said as Ginny hugged him and then added, "Ready to head back?"

"Yes, I am," Ginny smiled and led the way back to the study.

When they walked in Draco, Blaise, and Ron were amiably talking about something. They stopped when Harry and Ginny walked in.

"We should probably get going Harry," Ron said.

"Yeah we should," Harry agreed, looking at his watch.

"Bye guys and I'm glad to see you're trying to work this out," Ginny smiled.

"Bye Gin, Blaise, and Draco," Harry said as he stepped into the flames.

Ron went to follow, but stopped and told Ginny, "Oh, Ginny you're coming to dinner at The Burrow again tonight."

"Okay, I'll see you then and thanks again Ron this means so much to me."

"No problem. See you later," Ron said as he stepped into the flames and disappeared.

Ginny smiled to herself and asked, "Do I need to let the two of you talk?"

"No, I think we'll just meet for lunch tomorrow if that's okay with Blaise," Draco suggested.

"Sounds great," Blaise said. "I should probably get going as well, I'm sure Luna's waiting."

"Thanks again Blaise," Ginny said.

"You're welcome and I'm glad the two of you are both finally happy," Blaise said as he stepped into the flames.

This left only Draco and Ginny standing in the study together. Ginny decided to ask some questions, "So how'd you get them to come around and accept us and you?"

"I just flat out told them the truth, that I don't blame them for hating me. They had a reason, I was an arse to them all through Hogwarts and I had to prove that I had really changed. Also both of them knew that you'd have nothing to do with me if I hadn't changed," Draco explained.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"All of this."

"You're welcome. Are you mad that I told Ron and Harry that we're engaged?" Draco asked.

"Not at all. I'm glad you did because you also healed many wounds from the past and I know I wouldn't have been able to do that. I probably would have made them worse," Ginny explained.

"I just knew I needed to at least try to change things between us and really it was much easier that I thought it would be," Draco admitted.

What Draco said made Ginny remember what she would soon have to do. If Draco could face Ron and Harry and mend things, she could do the same with Lucius Malfoy. She then said, "I have to do something similar to that before I can marry you."

"What do you need to do?" Draco asked.

"It's complicated and it's a long story. I don't want to talk about it quite yet if that's okay," Ginny said.

"That's fine, but if you need help with anything I'm here for you," Draco assured.

"I know you are," Ginny smiled and then she changed the subject. "So we're going to my parents for dinner again."

"Yes we are," Draco agreed.

"And we get to tell them the good news," Ginny smiled.

"Yes we do."

"Truthfully I can't wait," Ginny exclaimed.

"Neither can I," Draco smiled.

Ginny really couldn't wait and this shocked her. She always figured her parents wouldn't approve of Draco, but obviously they did. She couldn't wait to see the looks on their faces when she told them. She also remembered that while they were there she should talk to Hermione, Harry, and Ron about talking to Lucius. She was hoping they would be able to help her get in to see him. She knew she would need to do this before she could marry Draco. She just needed to tell him and talk to him. She was hoping she'd be able to get his approval, but if she didn't she wouldn't hold her breath. This was just something she knew she needed to do and she would do anything to make it actually happen.

**What do you think about this? I felt like it was needed.**


	31. Chapter 31: Sharing the News

**Finally nearing the end. Enjoy!**

* * *

Ginny found herself once again standing at the front door of The Burrow with Draco standing beside her. Instead of worrying this time, she was excited and she couldn't wait to tell everyone the great news. She was sure they all already knew, but she still wanted to tell them.

Ginny knocked on the door and it was immediately pulled back to reveal her very happy and excited Mum. Without a word Ginny held up her hand showing off the ring. Molly's eyes were as big as saucers when she saw it. Ginny could see tears in her eyes and felt them fill hers as well. They weren't tears of sadness, what was there to be sad about? She was happier than she had ever been.

When they finally made their way inside the house it was all a blur and rush of emotions. Everything happened so fast and everyone was so happy.

Eventually the crowd around Ginny dispersed and it was just Ginny, Hermione, and her Mum left.

"We're going to have to start planning soon," Molly began.

"I know Mum."

"And you're going to have to pick a maid of honor and bridesmaids," she continued.

"Well that's easy. Hermione what do you say?" Ginny asked.

"You want me to be your maid of honor?" Hermione asked.

"Of course. So will you?"

"Of course I will," Hermione beamed.

"Well then that part is out of the way Mum," Ginny said.

"Yes, but there's so much still to do."

"I know, but can we not worry about that tonight?" Ginny asked.

"Of course. Why don't you come over tomorrow morning and we can talk about it?" Molly suggested.

"Umm…I actually have something tomorrow. What about the next day?" Ginny asked.

"That's fine. What do you have tomorrow?"

"Lunch with Draco," Ginny lied, not able to tell her Mum she was hoping to meet with Lucius Malfoy tomorrow.

"Okay," Molly said and then looking at the time said, "I should start getting dinner ready."

This left just Hermione and Ginny standing there. Hermione then asked," So what do you really have tomorrow?" She'd obviously seen through the lie.

"I was actually hoping we could talk about that," Ginny said.

"About what?"

"What I'm hoping to do tomorrow, but I'm going to need your help and possibly Harry and Ron's too," Ginny said.

"What do you need help with?" Hermione asked concerned.

Ginny looked around and noticed Draco was close and said, "Let's go to my room and talk about it."

"Okay," Hermione followed Ginny up the rickety steps to Ginny's childhood room saying, "I'm guessing Draco doesn't know about whatever this is?"

"Exactly," Ginny said as she stepped into her old room. It was the same as she'd left it. The four poster bed in the middle of the room, the closet in the left corner, the dresser next to that and the desk against the wall right under the single window.

Ginny sat on the bed and began, "I had a favor to ask you Hermione."

"And what might that be?" Hermione asked ready to get to the point.

"I was wondering if you would be able to help me get into visit someone who's in Azkaban," Ginny admitted.

"Who would you want to talk to in Azkaban…" Hermione trailed off as it dawned on her, "You want to see Lucius Malfoy don't you?"

"Exactly."

"Why?" Hermione asked trying to get to the bottom of this.

"I just need to talk to him. It's a long story, but can you help me?" Ginny avoided the question.

"You don't want his approval do you? Because I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you," Hermione stated.

"No, I don't plan on getting his approval. I just need to tell him that I'm marrying Draco and Draco has no intention of ever telling him. I just need to do this before I can marry Draco. I finally need to confront my past," Ginny tried to explain.

"You're sure about this?" Hermione asked skeptically.

"I'm positive. I need to do this and I was hoping you could help me," Ginny said.

Just as Hermione was about to answer Ron popped his head in the door and said, "I was wondering where you two disappeared to."

"We were just talking," Hermione said.

"About what?" Ron asked as he walked in followed by Harry.

"I had a favor to ask," Ginny informed.

"What type of favor?" Ron continued to question.

"I was hoping the three of you could get me into Azkaban to talk to someone," Ginny explained.

"Who do you want to talk to in Azkaban?" Ron asked.

Before Ginny could answer Harry said, "Is it Lucius Malfoy?"

"Yes," Ginny confirmed.

"Why?" Ron asked.

"I need to talk to him and tell him about the engagement."

"Does Draco know?" Harry wondered.

"No and he doesn't need to. He'd be against it, but it's something I need to do."

"Okay," Harry said.

"I kind of expected the two of you to overreact," Ginny stated.

"It's not worth it," Harry said. "When you get something in your head there's no stopping you."

"I agree," Ginny said and then added, "So will you guys help me?"

They looked at each other for a few seconds and then Hermione said, "I don't see why we couldn't. I think we could get you in to see him."

"Really?" Ginny asked shocked that they were actually going to help.

"I think so," Hermione said. "What about you Harry?"

"I think I could talk to the right people for you if this is what you really what," Harry said.

"This is what I really want," Ginny confirmed.

"Then I'll see what I can do. What do you think Ron?" Harry asked his best mate who hadn't said anything since Ginny asked the question.

"Why do you want to see Lucius Mafoy after all the terrible things he's done to you?" Ron asked.

"I just need to do this before I can marry Draco. I need to confront him about the past. Please understand that I need to do this," Ginny pleaded with her brother.

"I'm not letting you do this alone," Ron said protectively.

"Fine, then one of you come with me," Ginny suggested.

"I'll go with her Ron," Hermione reassured. "She'll be safe and I'll make sure of that."

Ron was silent for a second and then said, "Fine, if this is what you need to do I won't stand in your way."

"Will you help?" Ginny asked her brother.

"Yes, I will," Ron said.

"Promise any of you won't tell Draco?" Ginny asked.

"Promise," came from all three of them.

"Thanks. When do you think I can talk to him?" Ginny asked.

"If everything goes right tomorrow afternoon," Hermione said.

"Great."

"Yeah. Meet me at the Ministry at noon and we'll see," Hermione explained.

"I'll be there," Ginny smiled.

"We should probably head back down stairs," Harry suggested.

"Yeah we should," Hermione said standing and following Harry out of the room. Ginny was about to follow when Ron said, "Wait Gin."

"Yeah?"

"Are you sure this is what you want to do?" Ron asked concerned.

"I'm positive," Ginny confirmed.

"I just don't want to see you get hurt Ginny," Ron explained.

"I'll be fine."

"Are you sure? You haven't forgotten what he's done to you have you?" Ron asked.

"Of course I haven't Ronald. How could I ever forget he was the one who gave me the diary that led to the Chamber of Secrets? No matter how much I want to forget it I never can and that's why I need to talk to him. I need to tell him I don't care what he thinks and for once in my life I'm not afraid of him. I am going to marry Draco no matter what he has to say about it," Ginny burst.

"I didn't realize why you wanted to talk to him," Ron said.

"Well, you do now."

"I do and I understand. Just be careful."

"I'll be perfectly fine Ron, Hermione will be with me," Ginny assured.

"Great because I can't let anything happen to you Ginny," Ron said.

"Thank you Ron," Ginny smiled.

"You're welcome."

"I guess we should head downstairs," Ginny said.

"Yeah, we should," Ron said heading down the staircase followed by Ginny.

She couldn't believe this was actually going to happen. She was nervous about how it would go, but she needed to forget about that for now and be with her family.

When they reached the sitting room where everyone was gathered Ginny went over and sat on the couch under the window. She sat next to Charlie and said, "So you haven't gone back to Romania yet?"

"I did, but I heard the great news and knew I had to come back to congratulate you, so Congratulations Ginny!" Charlie smiled.

"Thanks Charlie, I'm glad you came back. It's nice having you around," Ginny said.

"It is nice being back. It's like the whole family is almost back together again."

"Almost," Ginny commented.

"Yeah, well Fred will not be coming through that front door anytime soon," Charlie pointed out.

"Yeah, but I think we have a better chance of that happening than Percy showing up," Ginny sadly said, thinking about her older brother who was still alive, but nowhere to be seen.

"You never know," Charlie said.

"Do you think he'll come to my wedding?" Ginny asked.

"Do you want him to?"

"Of course. He's my brother."

"Then I know he'll be there," Charlie assured.

A second later there was a knock on the front door. Ginny wondered who else could be coming because she thought everyone was already here. She was shocked when Mrs. Weasley pulled back the door to reveal none other than the brother they had just been talking about. Percy was standing there in the doorway for the first time in years.

His appearance was followed by shock. He chose this time to apologize, "Everyone, I'm sorry I've been such a jerk the last few years and I don't even know where to begin to start making it up to you, but I hope sometime maybe I can earn your forgiveness."

His speech was followed by everyone talking at once and celebrating his return. Everyone was easily putting the past behind them and attempting to move on. After all they had already lost one brother, son, or friend and they were not about to let another go.

"You knew he was coming didn't you?" Ginny asked Charlie.

"Yeah, I went and talked some sense into him this morning. I figured he'd already missed Bill and Fleur's wedding and Fred's funeral. I wasn't going to let him miss your wedding too," Charlie explained.

"Someone finally got the guts to talk to him."

"Yeah, and to tell you the truth I'm not sure why I didn't do this earlier," Charlie admitted.

"Either way you fixed things no and that's amazing. You brought our family back together," Ginny smiled.

"Congratulations Ginny!" Ginny looked up to see Percy standing there congratulating her.

"Thanks Percy. So you'll be at the wedding?" Ginny asked.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world. That is if I'm still invited," Percy said.

"Of course you still invited."

"Then of course I'll be there for my little sister on her big day," Percy exclaimed.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome," Percy said and then moved on to the next family member.

"We owe this all to you Charlie," Ginny said.

"Don't mention it, literally. No one else needs to know about it. I think things will be better if we let everyone believe he finally came around, not that I had to talk some sense into him," Charlie explained.

"Sounds great," Ginny replied.

The commotion continued until it was time for dinner and then it only paused for a few moments and continued again. Before Ginny knew it Draco and she were leaving.

"I'll see you at noon tomorrow," Hermione reminded.

"I'll be there," Ginny replied and then said, "Bye everyone," and with that Draco and Ginny left.

When they returned to the Manor Draco asked, "You're meeting Hermione for lunch tomorrow?"

"Yes," Ginny went with Draco's assumption.

"Great. I have lunch with Blaise so now I won't feel bad about leaving you alone for lunch," Draco smiled.

"Don't worry about it," Ginny smiled and leaned in and kissed Draco like she never had before.

That night Ginny fell asleep in Draco's arms thinking about everything. Percy had finally come back and things were great with her family. She had talked Hermione, Harry, and Ron into helping her arrange to see Lucius Malfoy. Tomorrow she would face the man who destroyed her first year of school and the man, who'd tried to ruin her relationship with Draco, but this was also the father of her fiancé and she knew what she needed to do to finally get some closure.

**What do you think?**


	32. Chapter 32: The Confrontation

**Here we are, almost to the end. Ginny goes and talks to Lucius in this chapter. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Ginny woke up the next morning knowing that today was the day she would talk to Lucius Malfoy. She didn't know what to expect, she just knew this needed to be done.

She stretched out her aching body and looking next to her saw Draco was still sleeping. He looked so peaceful and serene when he slept and Ginny loved this. She slid out of bed, careful to not wake Draco and then tiptoed into the bathroom to get a shower.

Ginny stood under the streaming hot water and as it poured over her tense muscles she thought about what she was going to do. She knew she should probably tell Draco of her plans, but she couldn't. She had decided she would tell him everything once it was over.

When she was done with her shower she went back out to the bedroom where she found Draco sitting on the bed watching her.

"Good morning," Ginny said.

"Good morning beautiful. How are you today?"

"I'm great," Ginny lied; honestly she was nervous as could be. She then asked, "So you're going to lunch with Blaise today?"

"Yes and you're going with Hermione?"

"Yeah at noon," Ginny answered.

"So you don't need to be anywhere for another two hours?" Draco asked.

"No, why?"

"I had something else in mind," Draco said as he pulled Ginny on top of him and captured her lips into a passionate kiss.

Ginny was lost in the feel of Draco enveloping her and she absolutely loved it.

The next two hours flew by as Ginny spent time with Draco. So now she found herself standing in front of the Floo saying, "I'll see you tonight Draco."

"Yes you will and have a great time."

"Thanks and you too," Ginny replied.

"I will and I love you Gin."

"I love you too Draco," Ginny smiled and kissed Draco before saying, "Bye."

"Bye," she heard from Draco as she stepped into the Floo.

Ginny closed her eyes on Draco's study and when she opened them again she found herself in the lobby of the Ministry of Magic. She followed the familiar path to Hermione's office.

The door was open when Ginny got there and looking in she saw Hermione sitting at her desk looking over some papers. Ginny knocked while saying, "Hello Hermione."

Looking up Hermione said, "Ginny it's nice to see you again. Come in."

Ginny took a seat and asked, "So can I see him?"

"Yes. We pulled some strings and as long as I'm with you you'll be fine," Hermione explained.

"Thank you so much," Ginny exclaimed.

"You're welcome. There are some guidelines you have to follow," Hermione began.

"What are they?"

"You can't try to help him escape. You must leave your wand with me. You can't threaten or cause him harm and you need to be careful," Hermione explained.

"I can do all of that," Ginny said handing Hermione her wand.

"Okay then let's be on our way," Hermione said standing.

Ginny followed suit and walked down the hall after Hermione. They made their way back down to the series of Floo fireplaces and before Ginny knew it they were standing at the gates of Azkaban.

The gates were black metal with a looming appearance. Beyond the gates Ginny saw a dark, dreary, and creepy castle with an evil aura about it. The sight gave Ginny chills, but she knew she needed to continue on.

"You ready?" Hermione asked.

"I'm ready," Ginny replied and watched Hermione open up the metal gate and lead the way up the path to the entrance. Once there Hermione opened the heavy metal doors that led inside. They walked in and Ginny marveled at what she saw. Hanging in the center of the ceiling was a huge chandelier made of black metal, to the right a security wizard stood and to the left there was a long hallway leading to what appeared to be offices. There was also a set of spiraling stone stairs that seemed to lead up to the prison itself and next to the stairs was a single lift.

Ginny followed Hermione down the hallway to the left, past many office doors until they reached one that read SAM HANLEY. Hermione knocked on the door and a feminie voice answered, "Come in."

Hermione opened the door and went into the office, closing the door again once Ginny was also in. They both took seats across from the beautiful blonde witch sitting behind the desk who then said, "Hermione it's great to see you again."

"You too Sam. This is Ginny," Hermione introduced.

"Nice to meet you Ginny, I'm Sam," Same introduced herself.

"Nice to meet you too," Ginny agreed.

"So which prisoner did you need to see?" Sam asked Hermione.

"Lucius Malfoy," Hermione told Sam.

"Okay, let me log you in and you will be good to go," Sam said as she shuffled through some things on her desk. She finally handed them access passes and said, "You're good to go. I'm sure you know where you're going Hermione."

"Yes, I do and thank you very much Sam," Hermione thanked.

"No problem," Sam said as Hermione and Ginny left the office.

"This way," Hermione said leading Ginny back to the lift in the entrance. They went up to level five and when the lift clanged to a stop they departed it. Hermione then led Ginny to a small interrogation room and said, "Gin, do you mind waiting in here while I get Lucius?"

"Not at all and thank you Hermione."

"No problem. So I'll get Lucius and bring him here. You can talk to him on your own, but I'll be behind the two-way mirror to make sure things are okay," Hermione explained.

"Sounds great."

"Good. I'll be right back," Hermione said as she left to get Lucius. Ginny took a seat and tried to organize her thoughts and feelings. The seriousness of what she was about to do finally hit her, but she knew she could do it and she soon would.

A few minutes later Hermione led Lucius Malfoy into the room and he took a seat. Hermione said, "IF you need anything just yell," and then she left the room.

Ginny and Lucius sat there in silence just looking at each other. Lucius looked the same as always with his long platinum blonde hair and his harsh face, except he looked weaker and more resigned.

"Why am I here?" Lucius asked in a snide icy voice that spilt through the silence.

Ginny collected herself and said, "I need to talk to you and tell you what needs to happen."

"Go on," Lucius said in his cold unforgiving voice.

"First, you are going to sit here and listen to what I have to say without any snide remarks and arrogance. Think you can handle that?" Ginny demanded.

"Little Weasley has a tough side," Lucius remarked.

Ginny ignored the comment and began, "What do you have against me? Why do you hate me?"

"Your family is full of blood traitors and you helped with the downfall of the Dark Lord."

"I don't see that as a problem," Ginny remarked.

"You and your family are a disgrace to that wizarding name."

"And why is that? Because I actually have respect for people and I'm not some stuck up arse that cares only about himself. If that's the reason then I'd prefer to be who I am. At least I have some meaning in my life. What do you have? Where did your loyalty to the Dark Lord get you? Put in Azkaban? You know you would have been next. Why are you so against me?" Ginny ranted.

"You are exactly correct, it got me nowhere. It got me locked up in here and it lost me my family. The most important things to me, my wife and son. Don't think I don't regret my past decisions every single day of my life. I thought I was doing what was best for my family, but it turns out I hurt them more than I ever imagined possible," Lucius informed.

"You regret it?" Ginny asked shocked.

"Every day of my life."

"Why?"

"Like I just said, it lost me my family," he admitted.

"You haven't lost Draco yet," Ginny pointed out.

"Yes, I have. I haven't seen him in months and it was obvious the last time I saw him that he wants nothing to do with me."

"That's not true. You've just hurt him and he doesn't know how to forgive you. He wants to but he doesn't know how," Ginny said, knowing it was true.

"How do you know?"

"Because I know Draco."

"Oh really?" Lucius asked skeptically.

"Yes really."

"And why is that?"

"Because I've been dating him for almost a year now and I am going to marry him," Ginny informed.

"What?" Lucius exclaimed.

"I am going to marry Draco," Ginny held up her hand with the ring on it.

"Is that why you're here? To show me you got your way and I didn't?"

"No, I'm here because Draco never planned on telling you and I feel like you should know and because I have a few questions I need to ask before I marry your son," Ginny explained.

"Draco wasn't going to tell me?" Lucius said looking hurt.

"No, but I thought you needed to know," Ginny said.

No one said anything for a few seconds, but then Lucius uttered something Ginny never thought she'd hear. She couldn't believe her ears when he said, "Thank you Miss Weasley. I really appreciate it."

"You're welcome," Ginny said dumbfounded and at this moment she knew something had changed. Lucius Malfoy had changed. He wasn't the same evil man he was before. Now he was alone and hurting because of his past decisions.

"You said you had some questions?" Lucius pointed out.

"Yes, the first thing is why do you hate me?" Ginny asked.

"You had the life I'd always wanted to give my son, but I never could. I could never understand why your family was so much happier than mine, even though mine had so much more," Lucius explained.

"We cared about each other and all you cared about was wealth and power," Ginny pointed out.

"I know that now and getting involved with the Dark Lord caused my dreams for Draco to go down the drain," Lucius said.

"Speaking of the past, why did you give me Tom Riddle's diary? Why did you ruin my first year? Why me?" Ginny asked, close to tears remembering all the pain that diary had caused her.

"You were an easy target and you were the weakest one in the family that had everything I wished I could have given my son. I acted rashly and did something I never should have done," Lucius tried to explain.

"Do you have any idea how much hell you put me through? You destroyed my first year out of envy and spite," Ginny stated.

"I know that and I have no idea how to take it back, but every day I wish I could. I think about what would have happened if it were Draco and I realize that I put an innocent girl through hell. I messed up," Lucius admitted.

"Don't worry about it. I forgave you a long time ago, but I just needed to know why," Ginny said.

"How could you forgive me for something that terrible?" Lucius asked confused.

"I don't believe in holding grudges. If I didn't move on I never would have been able to move past it and on with my life," Ginny admitted.

"Why are you being so nice to me after I've treated you like shit all these years?" Lucius asked.

"I know how much it means to Draco and whether you like it or not I love him," Ginny said.

"I know you do and you make him happy so I'm not going to interfere anymore," Lucius said.

"Then why did you try to steal him away from me with Malfoy Enterprises?" Ginny asked.

"It was my one last attempt to win my son back before I lost him, but that failed miserably," Lucius explained.

"You still have a chance to get him back, but you can't buy his love. You need to earn it."

"How do I do that?"

"You need to prove to him you're not the dad he's always known and I'll try to talk to him," Ginny said.

"Thank you" Lucius said again.

"You're welcome, but I have one more question," Ginny said.

"What is that?"

"I would like to ask for your approval of me marrying Draco, but if not I understand," Ginny said.

"You make Draco happy and that's all I've ever wanted for him. So I'm going to shock both of us and say yes I approve of Draco and you getting married," Lucius said.

"Really?" Ginny asked shocked.

"Really," Lucius confirmed.

"Thank you so much," Ginny exclaimed.

"You're welcome. Can you please tell him I've changed?" Lucius asked.

"Yes, I will, but I think our time's up and I have to go," Ginny pointed out.

"Okay. Thanks for visiting Ginny," Lucius said.

"You're welcome and I'll talk to Draco," Ginny said.

"Thanks," Lucius said. With that Hermione came in and said, "It's time to go Lucius."

"Bye Ginny," he said as he followed Hermione back to his cell.

Ginny stood there thinking about everything that had just happened. She was so shocked by how this had turned out and she was so glad. She had gotten the approval of Lucius Malfoy to marry Draco and she couldn't be any happier. She couldn't wait to tell Draco about her meeting with his dad and she hoped he would be just as happy as she was. Suddenly it seems as if everything was falling into place.

**What do you think about how it went? Will Draco be mad? How are things going to turn out?**


	33. Chapter 33: Not That Far Away

**Almost to the end! I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Ginny got home after her meeting with Lucius, still shocked at how things had turned out. She had never expected or even dreamed that she would actually leave Azkaban with his approval to marry Draco. He had surprised her in many different ways and she knew there was something that had changed over the last few years. She believed him when he said he truly regretted his decisions in the past because they had cost him his family. She thought that she could just be feeling sentimental and that he was lying but she believed it, but she had a strong feeling that everything Lucius had said had been true. Now it was time to tell Draco that she had met with his father and that he had changed.

Ginny found herself entering the kitchen where she knew Draco was making dinner, not knowing how to explain what she had just done.

When Draco heard Ginny come in he turned and smiling said, "Your back. How was lunch with Hermione?"

"Actually there's something I need to tell you about that, but first how was your day with Blaise?" Ginny avoided the topic for a little longer.

"It was fine," Draco said, confused by what was going on.

"Did you two talk about everything you needed to?"

"Yes, but that's not important. What did you mean when you said you had something to tell me?" Draco asked as he moved away from the cooking food and turned to face Ginny, his face masked in worry.

"Well, I didn't really go to lunch with Hermione," Ginny began.

"You didn't?" Draco asked confused.

"No, I did meet Hermione but we never had lunch."

"What did you do then?"

"Let me start from the beginning," Ginny said.

"Please do," Draco prodded.

"After you asked me to marry you and I said yes, I knew there was something that needed to be done before I could actually go through with it. I just wasn't sure how I was actually going to pull it off," Ginny said.

"You mentioned something about that yesterday," Draco pointed out.

"Yes, I did. Last night when we were at my parents I asked Hermione, Ron, and Harry for their help. I figured they were the only ones who would be able to help me make this happen. I asked them for a favor and to my surprise they said they would help. I would have expected them to be totally against it, but they knew it was something I had to do," Ginny explained.

"What kind of favor? What did you need to do?" Draco questioned.

"I needed their help to get into Azkaban and talk to someone," Ginny stated.

"Who did you need to talk to?" Draco asked, but then it dawned on him and his suspicions were confirmed when Ginny answered, "Your father."

"You went to see my father?"

"Yes, I did."

"Why?" Draco asked not understanding at all.

"Because I needed to let him know that we were getting married and I needed to finally confront him on everything that he has done to me. I needed to do it before I could marry you," Ginny explained.

"Why in hell didn't you tell me you were going to see my father?" Draco asked his word lined with disgust.

"I knew you would try to talk me out of it, but I needed to do this."

"You're definitely right. I would have tried to talk you out of it. My father is not worth it," Draco spat.

"I used to agree Draco, but your father has changed and I saw that today," Ginny said.

"My father will never change," Draco argued.

"He has," was all Ginny said in return.

"Why did you tell my father about us getting married?"

"Because he needed to know and it is obvious that you have no intention of ever telling him," Ginny pointed out.

"I have my reasons for not wanting him to know," Draco said, turning away from Ginny and back to the food. He was hurt and Ginny could tell, but she wasn't sure if it was because of her or because of his father.

"I'm sorry Draco. I just needed to do this. I never meant to hurt you," Ginny apologized.

"What are you sorry for? You did nothing to me. Now my father on the other hand has done his best to make both of our lives a living hell," Draco responded.

"I know that, but he says he regrets it every day," Ginny said.

"My father says a lot of things that aren't true."

"But I believe him. I think this was true," Ginny informed.

"Gin, I don't want to see you get hurt by him anymore than you already have," Draco said.

"I know that and I promise that I won't. Will you just hear me out because I really do think Lucius has changed," Ginny pleaded.

"Fine, I'll listen. Tell me everything that happened and I'll try to keep an open mind," Draco agreed.

"Thank you. That's all I'm asking," Ginny said.

"You're welcome," Draco said stirring the pot on the stove.

Ginny then began to tell Draco about her meeting with his father. "First I asked him why he made my life a living hell and what he had against me. He said that he dislikes my family because we always seemed happy and we had so little, but we were always happier than he could make his family. While he had all the money in the world, he never loved. He was always cold and distant and never showed his family how much they mean to him."

"He's got that part right," Draco added.

"Yes, he does. I also asked why he picked me to give the diary to, why he chose to destroy my life."

"What did he say?" Draco asked.

"That I was the smallest and the weakest in the family that he envied. I had the life he had always wanted to give you, but was never able to. I was the one who he could mess with because I was so young and innocent at the time," Ginny explained.

"What else did he say?" Draco asked.

"I already told you why he picked me, but I haven't told you about what he said about you and his past choices with the Dark Lord," Ginny started.

"What about me?"

"He said his choices lost him everything that was important to him, his family. He regrets everything and wishes he could change it. He said if he hadn't chosen the Dark Lord he never would have lost you."

"He's right about that," Draco shot.

"He chose the Dark Lord because he thought it would be best for his family and the time, but in reality it was the reason he ended up losing everything. You don't have to believe a word I've said Draco, but I do believe him," Ginny stated.

"Why?"

"There was just something about the whole situation that made me believe. It was like he'd finally given in and allowed himself to admit what he'd done and why he'd done it," Ginny said.

"If you believe him, then I guess he probably is being honest because I know you are too smart to fall for his tricks," Draco said.

"Speaking of tricks and traps, he explained why he gave you the company," Ginny informed.

"Why is that? To come between us?"

"No, it was his final attempt to win you back. All he's ever wanted is to have a happy family and he was hoping this would win you back. He just wants you to be happy Draco," Ginny said.

"I finally am happy, no thanks to him," Draco remarked.

"I know you are Draco, but I also know that if you let him back into your life you would be even happier."

"That may be true, but the pain that would come with it would be too much to handle," Draco explained.

"There's one more thing you need to know before you totally write your father off," Ginny said.

"And what is that?"

"I told him about the wedding because obviously you never planned to and I felt like he needed to know. I went in there just planning on telling him. I never expected anything from him. I expected him to be mad, but instead he was happy because he just wants you to be happy. Surprisingly I came out of the conversation with his approval," Ginny explained.

"His approval?" Draco asked skeptically.

"Yes, he approves of us getting married," Ginny smiled.

"That does not sound like my father," Draco exclaimed.

"I know and like I've told you before he had changed. I told him I'd tell you that he had changed, but now the balls in your court Draco. So are you going to continue pretending like your dad doesn't exist? Or are you going to be the bigger man and give him another chance?" Ginny asked.

"Do I really have a choice?" Draco asked.

"No," Ginny smiled.

"When am I going to see him?" Draco sighed.

"Tomorrow afternoon if possible."

"Fine," Draco sighed again as he moved dinner to the table.

"Thanks Draco," Ginny smiled.

"Don't mention it," Draco sighed.

Ginny smiled to herself thinking that this had gone great. Draco had promised to try and work things out with his dad and Ginny had finally gotten closure. She was now ready to move on with planning her wedding. That would be a long and trying process that would begin tomorrow. The planning wasn't really Ginny's cup of tea, but she knew in the end it would pay off and she would be married to the man of her dreams. She just couldn't wait.

**Is Ginny really ready? Will Draco make up with his father? What is next? What do you think?**


	34. Chapter 34: Almost There

**Sorry it's so short. It is basically a filler chapter because it seemed weird to jump from the last chapter to the next chapter without any thing in between. Only two chapters to go. I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Today was the day that Ginny would start planning her and Draco's big day, with the help of her Mum, Hermione, and Luna. It was also the day that Draco would confront his dad.

Ginny found herself saying, "Everything will be fine. Just try and have an open mind."

"I will," Draco sighed, getting ready to go.

"Good luck and I will see you after you get home," Ginny said.

"Thanks, you too," Draco responded.

"Thanks, I'm sure I'm going to need it," Ginny sighed.

"We'll both be fine. Don't worry about it," Draco assured.

"I know. See you later," Ginny agreed.

"See you later," Draco said and then kissed Ginny goodbye and stepped into the Floo. He was gone and now it was Ginny's turn to leave.

An hour and a lunch later Ginny found herself sitting around the kitchen table at The Burrow with her Mum, Hermione, and Luna.

Molly was saying, "So Ginny there is a lot to get done before the wedding and a lot of things to figure out. First off when do you want to have the wedding?"

"I was thinking sometime in the spring," Ginny answered.

"That gives us about three months to get ready. That should be enough. So where do you want to have the wedding?"

"I was thinking either here or the Manor," Ginny answered. "Or maybe a beach somewhere," Ginny found herself day dreaming.

"Malfoy Manor doesn't seem like the place to hold a wedding. It's big enough, but not happy enough," Hermione chimed in.

"I agree," Luna said. "So that leaves here or a beach."

"We can do it here," Molly pushed.

"Yeah, but Bill and Fleur had their wedding here and I've always pictured my wedding on a beach or somewhere like that," Ginny said.

"Where would you do it on a beach?" Molly asked.

"What about my place? Or Bill's? That would be kind of like a beach," Hermione suggested.

"That would be perfect Hermione," Ginny exclaimed.

"Bill's place is bigger and I'm sure he'll oblige. Let's do it there," Molly decided.

"Okay, so what's next?" Ginny asked.

"We'll have to go pick out a dress and everything later, but I think that you should think about having an engagement dinner. You can invite everyone and officially announce your engagement and get everyone together," Molly suggested.

"Sounds great. Where and when should we do this?" Ginny asked.

"Soon and probably at Malfoy Manor."

"Okay," Ginny said.

They spent the rest of the afternoon planning what would need to be done and when to do it. This would be a long process, but it would all pay off in the end.

Ginny had just returned from planning the wedding with her Mum. She had found Draco sitting in the library staring at pictures of when he was a child. He was smiling, reminiscing about this time.

Ginny smiled and walked over and sat on the arm of his chair and looked at the picture in Draco's hands. It was of a young boy with platinum blonde hair who was smiling and waving a toy wand as his parents happily watched him. He seemed so happy and carefree.

"You are so cute," Ginny smiled.

"Thanks," Draco smiled still staring at the moving picture.

"How did it go today?" Ginny asked.

Draco sighed and then said, "He definitely has changed. I'm going to try to forgive him. I think we can move on past all of this and I can actually have a real dad. I owe all of this to you Gin."

"Don't worry about it. He has changed and I'm glad you see it too," Ginny said.

"Me too, I'm hoping I can figure out how to get him out of there," Draco stated.

"I'd suggest talking to Harry. He holds some power in those aspects," Ginny suggested.

"That's what I thought and I plan on going to go see him tomorrow. I might actually have a chance to have a real dad now that I'm twenty-two," Draco smiled.

"I'm sure everything will work out," Ginny smiled.

"So how did planning go?" Draco asked.

"Pretty good. Is it okay if we hold an engagement dinner here?"

"Yeah that's perfectly fine. I kind of figured we would," Draco said.

"Great," Ginny smiled and imagined how everything would play out. She now had to plan a dinner and try to unite her family and Draco's friends and possibly dad. Suddenly she had a lot on her plate and she knew she could get through it.

Everything was already perfect and nothing would ever change that.

**What do you think?**


	35. Chapter 35: Never Better

**Longest chapter by far and the longest chapter of the story. One chapter to go. Enjoy!**

* * *

The next few weeks passed in a frenzy of planning and deciding. The invitations had been sent out and the dress chose. It was a stressful time, but it all would pay off. Bill and Fleur had agreed to having the wedding there and Harry had helped get Lucius out of Azkaban on a few conditions. He was to stay out of trouble and he would live in the apartment that Draco had rented for Ginny, everything was settled and finally falling into place.

All too quickly the date of the engagement dinner had approached. Today was the day and Ginny found herself rushing around the Manor making sure everything was in order. The dining hall was decorated in gold and white, the sitting room rearranged for better access and more seating, and the kitchen was set up for the chefs.

Of course today of all days Draco had been called to Malfoy Enterprises due to some dilemma, leaving Ginny alone to make sure everything was just perfect.

There was a knock on the door and Ginny went to answer it. She found the gardener standing there and saying, "Miss, I think I've finished. Would you like to take a look?"

"Sure," Ginny answered following him out the front door. She was amazed at what she saw. There were archways made of white roses placed along the walkway. The lawn was pristine with a stone fountain that was new, it was surrounded in red roses and red roses also lined the base of the Manor. I was perfect.

"What do you think?" the gardener asked.

"It's perfect," Ginny exclaimed.

"Great. If you need anything else you know where to find me," he said before leaving.

Ginny walked back into the Manor and realized how different it looked today. The dining hall had two long tables surrounded by chairs instead of the normal one table and eight chairs. It was elegant and perfect for tonight.

The clock chimed and Ginny realized she should start getting ready for the night. She went upstairs into the bedroom and jumped into the shower. When she was done she dried her hair and went into her closet to choose her dress for the night.

Before she had chosen a dress a voice said, "I'm so sorry about that. Is everything under control?"

"Yes it is and it's okay. I get it."

"Thank you Gin," Draco said before he went to get his own shower.

Ginny looked around the closet and her eye landed on the perfect dress. I was a floor length dress with spaghetti straps made of a shimmery silver fabric. She slid it on and looked at her reflection in the mirror. She was gorgeous, the dress was shimmering in the light and Ginny absolutely loved it. She chose a pair of silver heels and diamond jewelry. She wore her hair down in flowing waves. She was elegant looking and gorgeous.

Walking downstairs about an hour later she saw Draco standing at the bottom of the steps wearing black dress pants, a black button down shirt, and a white tie. He looked amazing. Ginny was about to tell him so when there was a knock at the door. The first of the guests were arriving.

Before Ginny knew it, the dinner was in full motion. Almost everyone was there and everyone was in the sitting room and dining hall mingling with one another.

Ginny wasn't sure who she should go talk to. Just as she was about to go find Draco, Goyle walked up and said, "Congratulations Ginny!"

"Thanks Goyle…or Greg? Which do you prefer?" Ginny asked.

"Whatever's fine."

"Okay, so how have you been?" Ginny asked.

"I've been great. It's pretty obvious that you have been too," Goyle smiled.

"Yes, I've never been better."

"Hey Gin," Ron said walking up.

"Hey Ron," Ginny smiled.

"Hello Ron. How have you been?" Goyle asked.

"Goyle?" Ron asked.

"Yes."

"Oh…I've been good. What about yourself?" Ron asked.

Ginny smiled to herself and walked over to where Charlie was talking to George, leaving Ron and Goyle to continue their conversation.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Ginny asked.

"Not much, just trying to figure out what prank to pull," George joked.

"You better not!" Ginny warned.

"I was only kidding," George laughed.

"You better be."

"Chill out Gin," Charlie laughed.

"I'm trying."

"Hard day?"

"Yeah really hard," Ginny sighed.

"Well everything turned out great and you look amazing," Charlie said.

"Thanks," Ginny smiled and then heard her name called from across the room. "I guess I'm needed."

"Have fun," George laughed.

"I'll try," Ginny smiled as she walked across the room to where Pansy was standing and asked, "Pansy, did you call me?"

"Yeah I did. First I think congratulations are in order," Pansy said.

"Thanks."

"Second, have you seen Harry?" Pansy asked.

"Not recently. Why?"

"I just wanted to talk to him and all," Pansy said.

"Is that all?" Ginny asked skeptically.

"No," Pansy sighed. "Honestly I've had a little crush on Boy Wonder for years now," Pansy admitted.

"Aww…" Ginny exclaimed.

Pansy glared and then said, "Don't push it Weasley."

"Okay," Ginny laughed. "I can help you find him. Last time I saw him he was talking to Luna and Blaise in the other room."

"Thanks Ginny," Pansy said.

"No problem," Ginny answered as she led the way to the other room where she saw Harry still talking to Luna and Blaise. She walked up followed by Pansy and said, "Harry."

Harry turned and said, "Hey Gin, what's up?"

"Have you talked to Pansy recently?" Ginny asked.

"No," Harry answered confused.

"Would you like to?" Pansy asked shyly, which was very out of character for her.

"Sure," Harry said surprising everyone standing there.

Ginny smiled to herself as Pansy and Harry took a seat on the couch deep in conversation.

"What was that about?" Blaise asked.

"I'm not too sure. Pansy asked if I knew where Harry was and said she had a crush on him," Ginny explained, feeling like a school girl spreading gossip.

"Very interesting," Blaise laughed.

"Agreed," Ginny smiled.

"Busy tonight?" Blaise asked.

"Extremely," Ginny smiled, "but I guess it's all worth it."

"I'm sure it is," Blaise said.

"I should probably go find Draco. I think it's almost time to eat," Ginny explained.

"Okay, best of luck."

"Thanks, I'm going to need it," Ginny smiled as she went to find her fiancé.

She found him in the dining hall talking with Bill. Walking up she said, "Draco, I think dinner's almost ready."

"I'll go check," Draco smiled and kissed her before walking off.

"What were you talking about?" Ginny asked Bill.

"He was just thanking me for letting you have your wedding at our place," Bill explained.

"Thanks," Ginny smiled.

"Go get him. I know you want to," Bill smiled.

Ginny smiled, hugged her brother and followed Draco to the kitchen.

When she walked in Draco was talking to the chef and then he turned to leave the kitchen and saw Ginny. Smiling he said, "Dinner's ready."

"It smells so good."

"I know. Ready to go tell everyone?" Draco asked.

"Yeah in a second," Ginny said before kissing him.

"I love you Gin."

"I love you too Draco. So, let's go do this," Ginny smiled.

Once back in the dining hall Draco announced, "Dinner is ready if everyone would please take their seats."

Everyone took their seats and talked among themselves. Draco stood and began, "First off I want to thank everyone for coming. We really appreciate it. Everyone her knows that without Ginny in my life I would still be the old me and I know we all prefer this side better," Draco smiled. "Well, I guess that's it. I guess it's time to eat."

"Actually would you mind if I said something first?" Molly Weasley asked.

"Go right ahead," Draco said taking his seat.

"Thank you. I would like to say that I have never seen Ginny this happy before. It is all because of you Draco. I know you will take care of my little girl and you are now part of our family, whether you want to be or not," Molly laughed. "I wish you two so much happiness and we will always be here for you."

Molly sat down and Arthur stood up saying, "Draco, you are perfect for my daughter and be good to her. I know you will be."

Ginny smiled at what her parents had said and she was close to tears. She then watched as one by one everyone stood up and said something.

Lucius stood next saying, "Draco, I am so sorry for what I have done in the past. I regret my choices every day of my life. If I could I would go back and change everything because you deserve so much more than I ever gave you. I am so proud of what you have done and you are the best son a father could ask for. I just want you to be happy and I know with Ginny you are.

"Ginny, I owe so much to you because if it wasn't for you I would not be here today and I may never have talked to my son again. Thank you so much. I wish the two of you the best. Draco, if your mother was here I know she would be so proud of you and would be there for you every step of the way. You are just like her and I know she lives on through you. Thank you for everything and congratulations," Lucius ended. Ginny looked over and saw tears in Draco's eyes.

Next was Bill who said, "Ginny, I've always been protective over you because you are my little sister. I never in a million years would have thought I'd be standing here tonight celebrating your engagement to none other than Draco Malfoy, but I am and I've never seen you happier. Draco, I know you will take care of her because if you don't there are too many people to answer to."

Fleur followed her husband, "I wish you two the best of luck together and I know you two are perfect together."

Ginny smiled and said, "Thanks," with tears in her eyes now.

"I know I've never been around much, but Ginny you are my little sister and we've always been close. I know you are happy with Draco and I support you one hundred percent. Draco, thanks for being there for my sister and showing her what a real amazing life is. You two are perfect together and I wish you the best," Charlie said.

"Ginny, I've always messed with you along with Fred since you were little. I hope you know it's because I know you can take it. You're the strongest and most determined girl I have ever met and you always get your way. I am glad to see you happy and I miss messing with you. Also, I know Fred would feel the same way because we always felt the same way. We both respect your decisions and know you know what is best for you. Congratulations little sister!" George said.

Hermione stood up with tears in her eyes and began, "Ginny you have always been my best friend and you've been there for me when no one else is. You're like the sister I never had. I love seeing happy and now you're getting married.

"Now Draco, we were always enemies through school and I never realized how much you'd changed until Ginny made me see it. You are nothing like the old you and you are perfect for Ginny. I wish the two of you a world of happiness."

After Hermione sat down Luna stood up and said in her usually airy voice, "Ginny I am so glad you're happy. You deserve to be happy and so do you Draco. I never really saw a problem with you because to me it was obvious that behind that cold façade there was a nice guy who just wanted to be different than his family had been. I knew that things would work out between the two of you and that you were destined to be together.

"Ginny remember when you weren't sure if your family would ever accept the two of you?" Ginny nodded remembering it all too well. "See, everything has worked out and it is amazing. Just listen to your heart and you will reach your dreams. I would say good luck and I wish you the best, but I know there is no need. Things will be perfect just like always," Luna finished.

Those tears that had been in Ginny's eyes were now rolling down her cheeks; she knew that everything Luna had just said was absolutely true. Everything was perfect.

Blaise followed Luna by saying, "Draco man, you are my best mate and you always have been. It is so great to finally see you happy and I know it's all because of you Ginny. You always played the tough guy, but I was the only one who had ever seen the real you for a long time. You weren't that guy you pretended to be, you were always this guy that you are now. I can remember that first time I saw you and Ginny together at Pansy's dinner and I remember you telling me that you were in love with Ginny. I knew that you were; it was so obvious to me. She has really brought out the best in you and that is definitely a great thing.

"Ginny, you were the one who let the whole world see the real Draco Malfoy and it is great to finally see him being himself all the time. We owe you so much because without you I am not sure that he would ever truly be happy. When you came into his life you broke down that cold façade and brought out the real Draco. It is obvious to all of us here that you two are extremely in love and I wish you the best. You two are opposite, but a perfect combination; like fire and ice," Blaise concluded. Ginny turned to Draco and saw his expression; he looked so grateful and happy.

"So, Draco we have a past and I always wished we could get it back, but I know things have changed. You are not that same Slytherin boy you used to be and I am no longer the Slytherin girl I used to be. We have both changed and grown apart, but I am glad to see that you have grown to find someone that you love like you do Ginny.

"Ginny, I am sorry for everything I've done to you in the past. It was all stupid because I was jealous of how Draco looked at you. It was obvious during Hogwarts years that he was fascinated by you. I just never would have expected you two to end up getting married. Yet again I'm sorry for everything and wish the two of you the best of luck," Pansy said.

Next Crabbe stood saying, "Draco, we've always been close and I am glad that you are happy. Ginny, I never really knew you before that night at Parkinson Manor, but I got to know you then and you are an amazing person. Draco is lucky to have you and I know you will make him happy."

Ginny smiled, not knowing she had made that much of an impression. "It's nice to see you two happy. Like Crabbe said, I never knew you before that night; I always assumed what everyone else did. I am glad I actually got a chance to know you though because now I know that I have been mistaken for so many years. You are perfect for Draco and he is perfect for you. Congratulations!" Goyle stood and said.

Next was Percy, "Ginny I know I haven't been around much and I have been a jerk, but you are still my little sister and you mean so much to me. I am glad to see you happy and Draco you have made her this happy. I'm sorry for everything I've missed out on over the last few years, but I promise I will never miss anything again. I wouldn't miss your big day for the world."

Almost everyone had spoken and Ginny was overwhelmed by what they had to say, but the two she wanted to hear the most were the only two left.

At this point Ron stood and began, "Ginny, you are my little sister and I've always tried to protect you. At times I know I have failed miserably and overreacted, but I never want to see anything happen to you. Seeing you go through everything during the Chamber of Secrets incident was too much for me and I never wanted to see you hurt that way again.

"When I first found out you were dating Draco I thought that was what was going to happen, you were going to be hurt by him. I had only ever seen Draco as the git that he was back at Hogwarts. He was my enemy and I couldn't understand what you saw in him, but I started to see it as everyone else started to accept him.

"Draco, when you invited us over to tell us about the engagement that was when I finally realized that you were different. The old Draco Malfoy I knew never would have done something like that. I wish I would have seen it sooner, but I didn't and now that I do I know you will make my sister happy. I wish you two the best of luck and I know you will be happy together. If you ever hurt her Draco, you will have to answer to all of us."

"I know that Ron and I never plan on hurting her," Draco assured.

Last, but not least, Harry stood and began, "Ginny, we have so much history that it has been hard to over look, and the same goes for Draco. I love you Ginny, I always have and I always will. I just want you to be happy and it hurt me so much when you chose Draco over me, but now I see that you belong with him. I would never try to pull you away from true happiness and I did earlier. I will never do that again because now I realize that you are truly happy with Draco.

"Draco, you have been my enemy from the word go and I vowed to never forget that, but I know you are not the same guy you used to be. You have changed and you have changed into something that is perfect for Ginny. I can't make her happy anymore and I know that you can. So, please take care of her for me. She deserves so much more than anyone can give her, but I know you will try to give her everything she ever needs. Just take care of her and be there for her. You are what makes her happy so please don't let any of us down. I wish you two the best of luck and know that you are happy together and you always will be."

Ginny was fully in tears when Harry finished and she got up and ran over hugging him. It meant so much to her that he had finally put the past behind him and was only concerned with her happiness. Everyone was clapping after his speech and Ginny could never have been happier. This was all she'd ever wanted. She needed everyone to accept her relationship with Draco and now it was obvious that they had.

Once everyone was settled down and seated again, dinner was served. There was chatting among them and everyone was getting along. Everything had finally worked out and Ginny knew nothing could ever ruin any of this.

The rest of the night passed quickly and before Ginny knew it everyone was getting ready to go. After many hugs and goodbyes, Ginny found herself standing in the dining room with only a few people left. Blaise, Luna, Hermione, Ron, Harry, and Pansy were still standing there talking, but everyone else had already departed.

Ginny walked up to Harry and said, "Thank you so much Harry that meant so much."

"You're welcome. I have some news for you," Harry smiled with Pansy on his arm.

"What might that be?"

"We're going to start dating!" Pansy burst.

Ginny was so shocked, but also so happy for both of them. "That's great," she smiled.

Harry had finally started to move on and Ginny was happy for him. He needed someone like Pansy to help him through everything and she was glad she had helped Pansy find him.

Before Ginny knew it all of the guests left had went home and she was standing in the dining room with only Draco, as happy as she could be. She wrapped her arms around him and said, "This was so amazing."

"I absolutely agree," Draco smiled.

"I love you so much and that will never change," Ginny exclaimed.

"I love you too Gin," Draco said as he pulled her closer.

Tonight had truly been a dream come true. Ginny had gotten everything she'd ever wanted in life. A guy who was perfect for her, her family's acceptance and everyone around her reunited again. It was perfect and it would only get better.

Before she knew it she would be married to the love of her life, the only one she ever wanted, the guy of her dreams, and the guy she would have least expected, Draco Malfoy.

**What do you think? Next chapter is the wedding and the last chapter of this story. Thanks for reading so far!**


	36. Chapter 36: Today Was a Fairytale

**Here it is, the last chapter. Thank you for reading and I really would love to know what you think. I won't ramble on right now, you have a wedding to go to. Enjoy!**

* * *

Ginny found herself standing in the guest bedroom at Shell Cottage. This room had been transformed into a dressing room for the wedding. Everything was set up, the dress was hanging from the back of the door, make was laid out on the bathroom counter, and shoes were lined against the wall and inside stood the bride, maid of honor and two bridesmaids.

It was the big day. Today was the day Ginny Weasley would marry Draco Malfoy, the man of her dreams. It had come so fast. It seemed like only yesterday that he proposed, but in reality that was a few months ago. The time had flown, but it was already their wedding day.

All the decisions had been made in the last few months and in the last few days everything had been set up at Shell Cottage. She couldn't believe it, but the wedding was in an hour. She would be getting married in only an hour. When she was at school or work and hour seemed like ages, but now standing her on her wedding day an hour seems like only a few seconds.

Ginny wasn't having second thoughts and she never did, but it just seemed like everything was happening so quick. It seemed like they started dating only a few days ago, but it was really closer to a year and a half. They had come so far since that day and so much had happened and changed.

Ginny was lost in thought of how far they had really come. She remembered the day that Draco had asked her to dinner, she was shocked but excited. She had no clue what to expect that night especially because at that point Serena was still in the picture, but it had turned out amazing. They went back to Malfoy Manor and Draco kissed her for the first time. When she was overcome by so many feelings from one single kiss she ran out afraid of what that meant.

Draco plagued her mind from then on out and she found herself on his doorstep soaking wet and crying after fighting with her Mum. That was the night that everything started to change. Before she knew it she had practically moved in and then they went to a dinner again. This time they shared more than a kiss afterward, Ginny gave him everything and she didn't regret it and she never would.

The next thing she knew her family was trying to talk her out of it, but she ignored them. She thought they would be the only obstacle, but then out of nowhere came Lucius Malfoy. Everything changed again and Ginny moved into her own little apartment. Before she knew it everything that she had work so hard for seemed to come crashing down around her when she saw Serena with Draco.

Overrating like always Ginny then took off with Hermione and Luna to Hawaii. It was a great time and she would never forget any of it, but she knew she couldn't avoid her feelings forever. Coming home she found Draco and let him explain, they were back together again.

Everything was almost perfect and then her family and Harry stepped in the way. She tried to make them accept Draco and that didn't work. Harry's reaction caused her to be sent over the edge and the next few weeks she was like a living zombie.

Finally she came out of that daze and she found herself at her parents for her birthday. Luna assured her that everything would be alright and Luna had never been more right, but of course true happiness couldn't come without a few more road blocks.

Malfoy Enterprises came into play now and Draco was always gone. Ginny was lost without him and decided it was time to surprise him. Little did she know that things were about to almost fall apart again. Finding Draco with Krista sent Ginny away again, she overreacted only to find out nothing was going on between them.

Draco wasn't about to let this happen again and surprise Ginny with a trip to the beach. In the meadow with the wild horses, Draco proposed assuring that Ginny would never leave him again. After that time flew as they planned the wedding and moved on with their lives.

They had been through so much together and Ginny had never been happier. It was already her wedding day and she couldn't believe it. She couldn't wait to marry Draco Malfoy.

Ginny was brought out of her thoughts of her past year and a half when Hermione said, "Ginny, you should probably start getting ready."

Snapping out of her thoughts Ginny said, "Yeah, I guess I should."

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm great. I was just thinking about how quickly everything's gone," Ginny said as she headed toward the bathroom to start doing her hair and makeup. Hermione helped Ginny to pull her fiery red hair into a curled arrangement.

Next it was time to put on the wedding dress that she absolutely loved. It was an ivory gown with a wispy and flowing skirt with a long train and off the shoulder sleeves and a corset back. The bodice of the dress has an elegant golden design that tapers down the bodice and is continued into the skirt and repeated on the straps. It was a simple dress without much detailing, except for the gold design, but it was perfect for Ginny. It fit her perfectly and accentuated her slim hourglass form. Just like everything else, the dress was perfect.

When Ginny was finished dressing for her wedding she looked in the mirror and her breath got caught in her chest. She looked amazing. This day was already a dream come true.

"Now Ginny, you look fabulous," Hermione said staring at Ginny in her wedding dress.

"Thanks. It really is the perfect dress," Ginny smiled.

There was a knock on the door and Hermione answered it. Standing on the other side was Draco with his hand over his eyes. Pansy who'd just walked up to the room squealed, "You're not allowed to see the bride before the wedding. It's bad luck."

"I know that Pansy. That's why I'm not looking," Draco pointed out.

"That counts too," Pansy squealed again.

"It's okay," Ginny laughed. "What did you need Draco?"

"I just wanted to talk to you for a second, but I understand if I can't see you until the wedding begins."

"Can you please give us a minute?" Ginny asked Hermione and Pansy.

"Sure," Hermione said leaving the room and shutting the door on Pansy's objections.

"You can look at me," Ginny laughed.

Draco removed his hand from his eyes and gasped when he saw Ginny, "You look…gorgeous."

"Thanks," Ginny smiled. "You don't look to bad yourself. So what did you want?"

"I wanted to see you and make sure you weren't having second thoughts or anything," Draco explained.

"Not at all. Why? Are you?" Ginny asked worried.

"No not at all. Sorry, I didn't mean to worry you. I've never been more sure about anything in my life," Draco assured.

"Great because neither have I. I just can't wait to marry you," Ginny smiled.

"You don't have to wait much longer. It's almost time," Draco pointed out.

"Yay!"

"I'm glad you're so excited," Draco laughed.

Ginny kissed Draco one quick time and then pushed him towards the door saying, "I need to finish getting ready.

"Fine, I'll leave," Draco kissed Ginny and slid out the door.

Ginny was so excited and happy. In a few minutes she would be marrying the man of her dreams.

Hermione opened the door and said, "Gin, are you ready to head out?"

Ginny took a deep breath and answered, "I've never been more ready for anything in my life."

Ginny followed Hermione out into the family room that held the door they would soon exit through into the wedding area.

Suddenly music began to play and one by one the wedding party processed down the aisle. Seconds later Ginny and her dad were standing in the doorway. Before following suit Arthur asked, "You ready Gin?"

"More than ever," Ginny smiled at her dad.

"Great," Arthur said before looping his arm through Ginny's and beginning to walk down the white aisle laid out on the green lawn.

Stepping out of the house and looking around, Ginny saw her wedding set up. It was perfect, the way she had always imagined it would be.

There were white wooden folding chairs lined up with an aisle down the middle. The chairs were filled with family and friends. At the end of the aisle was a white alter with a white canopy over the top. Behind this platform was the calm sparkling blue water in the distance. Standing on the platform was the old wizard wearing deep purple robes who was to marry her and Draco. Standing on either side of him Ginny saw Blaise, Harry, Ron, Pansy, Luna, Hermione, and the man of her dreams, Draco Malfoy.

As she walked down the aisle with her dad Ginny felt tears coming to her eyes as she saw everyone that was important to her. She saw her whole family and all of her friends. There was Charlie, George, Percy, Bill, and Fleur sitting in a row together with little Daniel Fred Weasley, Bill and Fleur's baby boy. Sitting in the front row Ginny saw Lucius Malfoy and her Mum sitting there, so happy and her Mum was already in tears. In the front center her dream man stood, waiting to make her his wife.

They reached the end of the aisle and Arthur hugged Ginny and said, "I'm so happy for you Ginny."

"Thanks Dad," Ginny said hugging him and then walking up to stand next to her husband to be.

When she reached his side Draco repeated, "You look so gorgeous."

Ginny smiled and turned when the wizard in purple robes began the ceremony.

"We are all gathered here today to celebrate the marriage of Ginerva Weasley and Draco Malfoy," he went on to say more about this union they were entering into, but Ginny was lost in thought. _I can't believe this is finally happening. I'm marrying the man of my dreams who just happens to be my childhood enemy. _She smiled to herself and looked at Draco who was looking at her smiling. _I love him so much and this feels so right. I just can't believe how far we've come in the last two years. I have never been happier._

Ginny was pulled from her thoughts when the old wizard said, "If anyone has a reason why these two should not be married, speak now or forever hold your peace."

There was only silence, no one was objecting. Ginny looked over to Harry who was smiling at her. He wasn't going to object. Just a few months ago Ginny would have expected him to stand up and object, but so much had changed since then. He was now with Pansy and had moved on from Ginny.

Ginny smiled and looked at the old wizard who was saying, "Well, since there is no objection let's move on to the vows."

"Draco, do you wish for Ginny to be your wife?" he asked.

Draco stared into Ginny's eyes and answered, "I do."

"Ginerva, do you wish for Draco to be your husband?"

There was no regret or doubt in Ginny's mind when she answered, "I do."

"Draco and Ginerva, do you promise to let your love for each other grow? As it will and as it must so that in the years to come you will renew your acceptance, your understanding, and your trust in one another?"

Draco and Ginny looked at each other and said, "We promise."

"As you have chosen to affirm your willingness to enter into the covenant of marriage before the witnesses; repeat after me your marriage vows."

The wizard recited the vow and Draco repeated, "I Draco Malfoy take you Ginerva Weasley to be my wife. I promise to love you, only you, and cherish you. For better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, as long as we both shall live."

Ginny smiled and went on to repeat almost the exact same thing Draco had just said, "I Ginerva Weasley take you Draco Malfoy to be my husband. I promise to love you, only you, and cherish you. For better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, as long as we both shall live."

Next was the ring ceremony.

Draco took Ginny's hand and as he slid her wedding ring on he said, "Ginny, I give this ring to you as a sign of my love. From this day forward you will be my wife and I will be your husband. You will never have to walk alone because I will always be by your side. I vow to love you and be with you in this covenant of marriage for as long as we both shall live."

Ginny had tears of happiness in her eyes when she took Draco's ring and slid it on his hand while she recited, "Draco, I give this ring to you as a sign of my love. From this day forward you will be my husband and I will be your wife. You will never have to walk alone because I will always be by your side. I vow to love you and be with you in the covenant of marriage for as long as we both shall live."

The old wizard went on to say, "We have been witnesses to this special day. Therefore, I and those of us here with you have recognized that you have become husband and wife and we and all of your family and friends shall honor you as the same from this day forward."

There was a pause in which Ginny heard her Mum crying in the audience which caused her tears to overflow.

Then the wizard announced, "Now by the power invested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife! You may kiss the bride!"

Draco leaned in and kissed Ginny gently on the mouth. In this moment everything was perfect.

They turned to face their family and friends as the wizard announced, "I present to you for the first time as husband and wife Mr. and Mrs. Draco and Ginny Malfoy!"

The crowd started to clap. Ginny turned to Draco and said, "I love you Draco Malfoy!"

"I love you too Ginny Malfoy!" Draco replied.

Looking into Draco's eyes and hearing her friends and family in the background, Ginny had never been happier. She was married to the man of her dreams, Draco Malfoy. Everything was perfect and today truly was a fairytale.

That question that had run through Ginny's mind almost two years ago was finally answered. This question was, _was this for better or worse?_ That answer was easy. There was no doubt in anyone's mind, it was definitely for better.

**What do you think? I can't believe it's over but I am proud of this story. Thanks for reading!**


	37. Thank You from GinnyGinervaWeasley

First off, thank you so much to everyone who has read and reviewed. I love hearing what you have to say and it really helps me improve the story. I can't believe that this story is actually finished. I started writing it a little over two years ago with no plans on where it was going, but I finally figured it out and here it is.

I would love to know what you think about the story. It doesn't matter if it's something you like or something you don't. I just would love to know how you feel about this story and my writing in general.

Next, I am currently working on another story that was inspired by reviews that peacefeet girl18 has made. I would love to thank her for her suggestions because that is the basis for my next story. If you are interested it is another Draco and Ginny fic and it will be up soon. Please check it out.

I guess that's about it. Thank you again for reading and reviewing. I hope you enjoyed it and it was worthwhile. I would love to know what you think and thank you so much again for making my first really fanfic a success.

Thanks!

~GinnyGinervaWeasley


End file.
